Abeta conformer selective anti-Abeta globulomer monoclonal antibodies

ABSTRACT

The subject invention relates to monoclonal antibodies that may be used in the treatment and diagnosis of Alzheimer&#39;s Disease. In particular, the present invention relates to monoclonal antibodies referred to as 10F4 and 3C5 and to other monoclonal antibodies (e.g., murine, human or humanized) having similar properties thereto.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/945,124, filed on Nov. 26, 2007, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/872,156, filed on Nov. 30, 2006, the contents of all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCE LISTING

A sequence listing in accordance with 37 C.F.R. §1.821-1.825 is attached to the present invention and contained in a file named “8503USC1-029996-1560-US03-SEQUENCE-LISTING-04-15-13.txt” (12,054 bytes, created on Apr. 15, 2013) and is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The subject invention relates to monoclonal antibodies that may be used in the treatment and diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease. In particular, the present invention relates to monoclonal antibodies referred to as 10F4 and 3C5 and to other monoclonal antibodies (e.g., murine, human or humanized) having similar properties thereto.

2. Background Information

In 1907, the physician Alois Alzheimer first described the neuropathological features of a form of dementia subsequently named in his honor as Alzheimer's disease (AD). In particular, AD is the most frequent cause for dementia among the aged, with an incidence of about 100 of the population in those above 65 years of age. With increasing age, the probability of disease also rises. Globally, there are about 15 million people affected with the disease and further increases in life expectancy are expected to increase the number of people affected with the disease to about three-fold over the next decades.

From a molecular point of view, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by a deposit of abnormally aggregated proteins. In the case of extra-cellular amyloid plaques, these deposits consist mostly of amyloid-β-peptide filaments, and in the case of the intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), mostly of the tau protein. The amyloid β(Aβ) peptide arises from the β-amyloid precursor protein by proteolytic cleavage. This cleavage is effected by the cooperative activity of several proteases named α-, β- and γ-secretase. Cleavage leads to a number of specific fragments of differing length. The amyloid plaques consist mostly of peptides with a length of 40 or 42 amino acids (Aβ40, Aβ42). The dominant cleavage product is Aβ40; however, Aβ42 has a much stronger toxic effect. Cerebral amyloid deposits and cognitive impairments very similar to those observed in Alzheimer's disease are also hallmarks of Down's syndrome (trisomy 21), which occurs at a frequency of about 1 in 800 births.

The amyloid cascade hypothesis of Hardy and Higgins postulated that increased production of Aβ(1-42) would lead to the formation of protofibrils and fibrils (i.e., the principal components of Aβ plaques), these fibrils being responsible for the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Despite the poor correlation between severity of dementia and Aβ plaque burden deposited, this hypothesis was favored until recently. The discovery of soluble Aβ forms in AD brains, which correlates better with AD symptoms than plaque load does, has led to a revised amyloid-cascade-hypothesis.

Active immunization with Aβ peptides leads to a reduction in the formation as well as to partial dissolution of existing plaques. At the same time, it leads to alleviation of cognitive defects in APP transgenic mouse models. For passive immunization with antibodies directed to Aβ peptides, a reduction of an Aβ plaque burden was also found.

The results of a phase IIa trial (ELAN Corporation Plc, South San Francisco, Calif., USA and Dublin, UK) of active immunization with AN-1792 (Aβ(1-42) peptide in fibrillary condition of aggregation) suggest that immunotherapy directed to Aβ peptide was successful. In a subgroup of 30 patients, the progression of disease was significantly reduced in patients with positive anti-Aβ antibody titer, measured by MMSE and DAD index. However, this study was stopped because of serious side effects in the form of a meningoencephalitis (Bennett and Holtzman, 2005, Neurology, 64, 10-12). In particular, meningoencephalitis was characterized by neuroinflammation and infiltration of T-cells into the brain. Presumably, this was due to a T-cell immune response induced by injection of Aβ(1-42) as antigen. Such an immune response is not to be expected after passive immunization. To date, there are no clinical data with reference to this available. However, with reference to such a passive approach to immunization, concerns about the side effect profile were voiced because of preclinical studies in very old APP23 mice which received an antibody directed against an N-terminal epitope of Aβ(1-42) once a week over 5 months. In particular, these mice showed an increase in the number and severity of microhemorrhages compared to control animals treated with saline (Pfeifer et al., 2002, Science, 298, 1379). A comparable increase in microhaemorrhages was also described in very old (>24 months) Tg2576 and PDAPP mice (Racke et al., 2005, J Neurosci, 25, 629-636; Wilcock et al. 2004, J. Neuroinflammation, 1(1):24; De Mattos et al., 2004, Neurobiol. Aging 25(S2):577). In both mouse strains, antibody injection led to a significant increase in microhemorrhages. In contrast, an antibody directed against the central region of the Aβ(1-42) peptide did not induce microhemorrhages (de Mattos et al., supra). The lack of inducing microhemorrhages was associated with an antibody treatment which did not bind to aggregated Aβ peptide in the form of CAA (Racke et al., J Neurosci, 25, 629-636). Yet, the exact mechanism leading to microhemorrhages in mice transgenic for APP has not been understood. Presumably, cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) induces or at least aggravates cerebral hemorrhages. CAA is present in nearly every Alzheimer's disease brain and about 20% of the cases are regarded as “severe CAA”. Passive immunization should therefore aim at avoiding microhemorrhages by selecting an antibody which recognizes the central or the carboxy terminal region of the Aβ peptide.

International Patent Application Publication No. WO2004/067561 describes stable Aβ(1-42) oligomers (Aβ(1-42) globulomers) and antibodies directed specifically against the globulomers. Digestion with unspecific proteases shows that the Aβ globulomer may be digested beginning with the hydrophilic N-terminus protruding from the globular core structure (Barghorn et al., 2005, J Neurochem, 95, 834-847). Such N-terminal truncated Aβ globulomers (Aβ(12-42) and Aβ(20-42) globulomers) represent the basic structural unit of this oligomeric Aβ and are a very potent antigen for active immunization of rabbits and mice leading to high antibody titers (WO2004/067561). The putative pathological role of N-terminally truncated Aβ forms in vivo has been suggested by several recent reports of their existence in AD brains (Sergeant et al., 2003, J Neurochem, 85, 1581-1591; Thal et al., 1999, J. Neuropathol. Exp Neurol, 58, 210-216). During in vivo digestion, certain proteases found in brain, e.g. neprilysin (NEP 24.11) or insulin degrading enzyme (IDE), may be involved (Selkoe, 2001, Neuron, 32, 177-180).

In view of the above, there is a tremendous and immediate need for a treatment for Alzheimer's Disease which has few, if any, side effects (e.g., microhemmorhages). With such treatment, affected patients may be able to maintain a functional and active lifestyle for many years beyond that which is possible without such treatment. Thus, not only are there financial implications for such a treatment but “quality of life” implications as well, not only for the patients but also for their caregivers.

All patents and publications referred to herein are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1

FIG. 1(a) shows a dot blot analysis of the specificity of different anti-Aβ antibodies (−6E10, −3C5, 10F4). The monoclonal antibodies tested here were obtained by active immunization of mice with Aβ(12-42) globulomer (prepared as described in Example I) followed by selection of the fused hybridoma cells (except for the commercially available 6E10, Signet, Cat. No.: 9320). The individual Aβ forms were applied in serial dilutions and incubated with the respective monoclonal antibodies for immune reaction:

-   -   1. Aβ(1-42) monomer, 0.1% NH₄OH     -   2. Aβ(1-40) monomer, 0.1% NH₄OH     -   3. Aβ(1-42) monomer, 0.1% NaOH     -   4. Aβ(1-40) monomer, 0.1% NaOH     -   5. Aβ(1-42) globulomer     -   6. Aβ(12-42) globulomer     -   7. Aβ(20-42) globulomer     -   8. Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation     -   9. sAPPα (Sigma) (first dot: 1 pmol)

FIG. 1(b) illustrates a quantitative evaluation which was done using a densitometric analysis of the intensity. For each Aβ form, only the dot corresponding to the lowest antigen concentration was evaluated provided that it had a relative density of greater than 20% of the relative density of the last optically unambiguously identified dot of the Aβ(1-42) globulomer (threshold). This threshold value was determined for every dot-blot independently. The value indicates the relationship between recognition of Aβ(1-42) globulomer and the respective Aβ form for the antibody given.

FIG. 2

FIG. 2(a) represents a detailed description of the patient material that was used for analysis.

FIG. 2(b) illustrates the immunoprecipitated amount of Aβ(1-40)-peptide and Aβ(1-42)-peptide as quantified by SELDI-MS analysis for the different patient and control brain samples with the antibodies 6E10, 3C5, 10F4 and the control antibody IgG2b.

FIG. 2(c) illustrates the relative immunoprecipitated amount of Aβ(1-40)-peptide and Aβ(1-42)-peptide as quantified by SELDI-MS analysis for the different patient and control brain samples with the antibodies 3C5, 10F4 and the control antibody IgG2b compared to the pan-Aβ-antibody 6E10 in percent. The total amount of Aβ-peptide immunoprecipitated by antibody 6E10 was set to 100%.

FIG. 2(d) illustrates the immunoprecipitated amount of Aβ-peptide as quantified by Western blot analysis for the different patient and control brain samples with the antibodies 6E10, 3C5, 10F4 and the control antibody IgG2b.

FIG. 2(e) illustrates the relative immunoprecipitated amount of Aβ-peptide as quantified by Western blot analysis for the different patient and control brain samples with the antibodies 3C5, 10F4 and the control antibody IgG2b compared to the pan-Aβ-antibody 6E10 in percent. The total amount of Aβ-peptide immunoprecipitated by antibody 6E10 was set to 100%.

FIG. 3

FIG. 3(a) shows a Coomassie stained SDS PAGE of:

-   -   1) standard proteins (molecular marker proteins)     -   2) Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation; control     -   3) Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation+mAb 6E10, 20 h, 37° C.,         supernatant     -   4) Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation+mAb 6E10, 20 h, 37° C., pellet     -   5) Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation+mAb 3C5, 20 h, 37° C.,         supernatant     -   6) Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation+mAb 3C5, 20 h 37° C., pellet     -   7) Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation+mAb 10F4, 20 h, 37° C.,         supernatant     -   8) Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation+mAb 10F4, 20 h 37° C., pellet

FIG. 3(b) shows the densitometric quantitative analysis of in vitro antibody binding to Aβ-fibrils.

FIG. 4

FIG. 4(a) represents the verification of amyloid deposits by Congo Red staining as plaques in brain tissue and as cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) in brain vessels in the APP transgenic mouse line Tg2576 and in an AD patient (RZ55).

FIG. 4(b) shows the strong staining of parenchymal deposits of Aβ(amyloid plaques) in an AD patient (RZ16) occurs only with 6G1 and the commercially available antibody 6E10 while 10F4 and 3C5 show considerably weaker staining. All antibodies were tested at a concentration of 0.7 μg/mL.

FIG. 4(c) shows the strong staining of parenchymal deposits of Aβ(amyloid plaques) in TG2576 mice occurs only with 6G1 and the commercially available antibody 6E10 while 10F4 and 3C5 show considerably weaker staining. All antibodies were tested at a concentration of 0.7 μg/mL.

FIGS. 4(d)-4(g) show the quantification of the analysis of Aβ plaque staining in the histological images using image analysis. Optical density values (0%=no staining) were calculated from the greyscale values of plaques subtracted by greyscale values of background tissue. (FIG. 4(d) shows the binding of 0.7 μg/mL antibody in Tg2576 mice. FIG. 4(e) shows the binding of 0.07-0.7 μg/mL antibody in APP/L mice. FIG. 4(f) shows the binding of 0.7 μg/mL antibody in an AD patient (RZ55), and FIG. 4(g) shows the binding of 0.07-0.7 μg/mL antibody in an AD patient (RZ16).) The differences between staining of the commercially available antibodies 6E10 (starts) and 4G8 (circles) and antibodies 6G1, 10F4 and 3C5 (one asterisk/circle: p<0.05, two asterisks/circles: p<0.01, and three asterisks/circles: p<0.001 versus control; post-hoc Bonferroni's t-test after ANOVA with p<0.001) were statistically evaluated (FIGS. 4(d) and (e)). In FIGS. 4(e) and 4(g), the antibodies 10F4 and 3C5 showed always significantly less staining than the commercially available antibodies 6E10 and 4G8 (p<0.05 in post-hoc t-test after p<0.001 in ANOVA).

FIG. 4(h) shows the strong staining of vascular deposits of Aβ(arrows) occurs only with 6G1 and the commercially available antibody 6E10 while staining with 8F5 or 8C5 was much weaker. All antibodies were tested at a concentration of 0.7 μg/mL. A qualitatively similar situation was found in Tg2576 mice (not shown here).

FIG. 5

FIGS. 5(a), (c), (e) and (g) show the amount of Aβ(1-40) and Aβ(1-42) peptide immunoprecipitated from Alzheimer's disease patient CSF by the monoclonal antibodies 6E10, 10F4, 3C5 and 8F5. Results for 4 individual Alzheimer's disease CSF samples are shown ((a)=Alzheimer's disease patient #0504009; (c)=Alzheimer's disease patient #30027; (e)=Alzheimer's disease patient #30026; (g)=Alzheimer's disease patient #26748015).

FIG. 5(b) shows the relative amount of Aβ(1-40) and Aβ(1-42) peptide immunoprecipitated from Alzheimer's disease patient CSF by the antibodies 10F4, 3C5 and 8F5 compared to the amount of Aβ-peptide immunoprecipitated by the antibody 6E10 in percent. The total amount of Aβ-peptide immunoprecipitated by mAb 6E10 antibody was set to 1000. Results for 4 individual Alzheimer's disease CSF samples are shown ((b)=Alzheimer's disease patient #0504009; (d)=Alzheimer's disease patient #30027; (f)=Alzheimer's disease patient #30026; (h)=Alzheimer's disease patient #26748015). FIG. 5(i) represents a detailed description of the Alzheimer's disease patient CSF material that was used for analysis in FIGS. 5(a)-5(i).

FIG. 6

FIG. 6(a) illustrates the DNA sequence (SEQ ID NO:1) of the variable heavy chain encoding the monoclonal antibody referred to herein as “3C5”.

FIG. 6(b) illustrates the DNA sequence (SEQ ID NO:2) of the variable light chain encoding the monoclonal antibody referred to herein as “3C5”.

FIG. 6(c) illustrates the DNA sequence (SEQ ID NO:3) of the variable heavy chain encoding the monoclonal antibody referred to herein as “10F4”.

FIG. 6(d) illustrates the DNA sequence (SEQ ID NO:4) of the variable light chain encoding the monoclonal antibody referred to herein as “10F4”.

FIG. 7

FIG. 7(a) illustrates the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:5) of the variable heavy chain encoding the monoclonal antibody referred to herein as “3C5”.

FIG. 7(b) illustrates the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:6) of the variable light chain encoding the monoclonal antibody referred to herein as “3C5”.

FIG. 7(c) illustrates the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:7) of the variable heavy chain encoding the monoclonal antibody referred to herein as “10F4”.

FIG. 7(d) illustrates the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:8) of the variable light chain encoding the monoclonal antibody referred to herein as “10F4”. (Complementarity determining regions (CDRs) are underlined in each described sequence.)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention encompasses antibodies, directed against Aβ globulomers, which improve the cognitive performance of a patient in immunotherapy, while at the same time reacting only with a small portion of the entire amount of Aβ peptide in the brain. Such properties prevent a substantial disturbance of cerebral Aβ balance and lead to less side effects. (For instance, a therapeutically questionable reduction of brain volume has been observed in the study of active immunization with Aβ peptides in fibrillary condition of aggregation (ELAN Corporation Plc, South San Francisco, Calif., USA and Dublin, UK) of active immunization with AN-1792 (Aβ(1-42) peptide in fibrillary condition of aggregation). Moreover, in this trial, severe side effects in form of a meningoencephalitis were observed.)

In particular, the present invention solves the above-noted side effect issues by providing Aβ globulomer antibodies possessing high affinity for Aβ globulomers. These antibodies are capable of discriminating other forms of Aβ peptides, particularly monomers, fibrils and sAPPα. Further, the antibodies of the present invention also discriminate against amyloid beta in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by binding only to non-CSF amyloid beta. Additionally, the antibodies of the present invention (e.g., 10F4 and 3C5) bind less to Aβ-plaques and vascular Aβ compared to a known antibody (i.e., 6E10).

In particular, the present invention encompasses an isolated antibody having a higher affinity to Aβ(1-42) globulomer than to at least one amyloid beta protein selected from the group consisting of Aβ(1-42) peptide present in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and b) Aβ(1-40) peptide present in CSF.

The present invention also includes an isolated antibody having a binding affinity to Aβ(1-42) globulomer which is greater than the binding affinity to at least one amyloid beta protein selected from the group consisting of a) Aβ(1-42) monomer, b) Aβ(1-40) monomer, c) Aβ(1-42) fibril and d) soluble amyloid precursor protein-alpha (sAPPα). This antibody binds with greater affinity to amyloid beta protein present in non-CSF than to amyloid beta protein present in CSF.

The above-described antibodies may be, for example, murine, monoclonal, recombinant, human and/or humanized. Further, any one of more of the antibodies of the present invention may bind to at least one epitope, which is the same epitope or epitopes, to which the monoclonal antibody 10F4 (obtainable from a hybridoma designated by American Type Culture Collection deposit number PTA-7808) or the monoclonal antibody 3C5 (obtainable from a hybridoma designated by American Type Culture Collection deposit number PTA-7406) binds.

Additionally, the present invention includes an isolated antibody comprising SEQ ID NO:5, an isolated antibody comprising SEQ ID NO:6 and an isolated antibody comprising both SEQ ID NO:5 and SEQ ID NO:6.

Further, the present invention encompasses an isolated antibody comprising SEQ ID NO:7, an isolated antibody comprising SEQ ID NO:8 and an isolated antibody comprising both SEQ ID NO:7 and SEQ ID NO:8.

The above-described antibodies of the present invention may comprise at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: a) the amino acid sequence of the heavy chain CDR3 and the amino acid sequence of the light chain CDR3 of monoclonal antibody (10F4) (obtainable from a hybridoma designated by American Type Culture Collection deposit number PTA-7808) and b) the amino acid sequence of the heavy chain CDR3 and the amino acid sequence of the light chain CDR3 of monoclonal antibody (3C5) (obtainable from a hybridoma designated by American Type Culture Collection deposit number PTA-7406).

Further, the above-described antibodies of the present invention may comprise at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: a) the amino acid sequence of the heavy chain CDR2 and the amino acid sequence of the light chain CDR2 of a monoclonal antibody (10F4) (obtainable from a hybridoma designated by American Type Culture Collection deposit number PTA-7808) and b) the amino acid sequence of the heavy chain CDR2 and the amino acid sequence of the light chain CDR2 of a monoclonal antibody (3C5) (obtainable from a hybridoma designated by American Type Culture Collection deposit number PTA-7406).

Also, the antibodies of the present invention may comprise at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: a) the amino acid sequence of the heavy chain CDR1 and the amino acid sequence of the light chain CDR1 of a monoclonal antibody (10F4) (obtainable from a hybridoma designated by American Type Culture Collection deposit number PTA-7808) and b) the amino acid sequence of the heavy chain CDR1 and the amino acid sequence of the light chain CDR1 of a monoclonal antibody (3C5) (obtainable from a hybridoma designated by American Type Culture Collection deposit number PTA-7406).

Moreover, the present invention also includes an isolated antibody comprising at least one CDR selected from the group consisting of amino acid sequence: a) SHYAWN (SEQ ID NO: 9); b) YIDYSGSTRYLPSLKS (SEQ ID NO: 10); c) GSGYFYGMDY (SEQ ID NO: 11); d) HASQNINVWLS (SEQ ID NO: 12); e) KASNLHT (SEQ ID NO: 13); f) QQGQSYPYT (SEQ ID NO: 14); g) NYLIE (SEQ ID NO: 15); h) VINPGSGDTNYNENFKG (SEQ ID NO: 16); i) GVITTGFDY (SEQ ID NO: 17); j) RASGNIHNYLA (SEQ ID NO: 18); k) NAKTLAD (SEQ ID NO: 19) and l) QHFWSSPRT (SEQ ID NO: 20).

Additionally, the present invention encompasses a hybridoma designated by American Type Culture Collection deposit number PTA-7808 as well as a monoclonal antibody (10F4) obtainable from or produced by a hybridoma designated by American Type Culture Collection deposit number PTA-7808.

The invention also includes a hybridoma designated by American Type Culture Collection deposit number PTA-7406 as well as a monoclonal antibody (3C5) obtainable from or produced by a hybridoma designated by American Type Culture Collection deposit number PTA-7406.

Furthermore, the present invention includes an isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding the antibodies described above. The nucleotide sequence of this molecule may comprise at least one sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:2, SEQ ID NO:3 and SEQ ID NO:4. Also, the present invention includes a vector comprising the isolated nucleic acid molecule as well as a host cell comprising the vector.

Additionally, the present invention includes a method of producing an antibody, comprising culturing the host cell described above in a culture medium for a time and under conditions suitable for production of any one of the antibodies described above. The antibody produced in accordance with this method is also included within the scope of the present invention.

Also, the present invention includes a composition comprising any one or more of the antibodies described above. This composition may further comprise a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

Further, the present invention encompasses a monoclonal antibody comprising an amino acid sequence encoded by at least one nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:2, SEQ ID NO:3 and SEQ ID NO:4. This antibody may be selected from the group consisting of a monoclonal antibody produced by a hybridoma designated by American Type Culture Collection deposit number PTA-7406 and a monoclonal antibody produced by a hybridoma designated by American Type Culture Collection deposit number PTA-7808. Also, the antibody may comprise at least one amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:5, SEQ ID NO:6, SEQ ID NO:7 and SEQ ID NO:8.

The invention also includes a method for treating or preventing an amyloidosis in a patient in need of such treatment or prevention. This method comprises administering one or more of the above-described antibodies (via passive immunization) to the patient in an amount sufficient to effect treatment or prevention. The amyloidosis may be, for example, Alzheimer's disease or the amyloidosis of Down's syndrome.

Also, the present invention encompasses an isolated antibody which binds to at least one epitope of amyloid beta protein in the brain of a patient having amyloidosis. This antibody may be produced, for example, by a hybridoma having an ATCC deposit number selected from the group consisting of PTA-7406 and PTA-7808.

The present invention also includes a method of diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease in a patient suspected of having this disease. This method comprises the steps of isolating a biological sample (for example, a CSF sample or brain tissue sample) from the patient, contacting the biological sample with one or more of the antibodies described above for a time and under conditions sufficient for formation of antigen/antibody complexes, and detecting presence of the antigen/antibody complexes in the sample, presence of the complexes indicating a diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease in the patient. The antigen of the complex may be, for example, a globulomer.

Additionally, the present invention encompasses another method of diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease in a patient suspected of having this disease. This method comprises the steps of isolating a biological sample from the patient, contacting the biological sample with an antigen for a time and under conditions sufficient for the formation of antibody/antigen complexes, adding a conjugate to the resulting antibody/antigen complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the conjugate to bind to the bound antibody (wherein the conjugate comprises an isolated antibody of the present invention attached to a signal generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal), and detecting the presence of an antibody which may be present in the biological sample by detecting a signal generated by the signal generating compound, the signal indicating a diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease in the patient. The antigen used in the assay may be, for example, a globulomer.

Further, the present invention includes an additional method of diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease in a patient suspected of having Alzheimer's Disease. This method comprises the steps of isolating a biological sample from the patient, contacting the biological sample with an anti-antibody (wherein the anti-antibody is specific for one of more of the antibodies of the present invention), for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow for formation of anti-antibody/antibody complexes, the complexes containing antibody present in the biological sample, adding a conjugate to the resulting anti-antibody/antibody complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the conjugate to bind to bound antibody (wherein the conjugate comprises an antigen, which binds to a signal generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal), and detecting a signal generated by the signal generating compound, this signal indicating a diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease in the patient.

Additionally, the present invention includes a vaccine comprising one or more of the antibodies of the present invention and a pharmaceutically acceptable adjuvant.

Further, the present invention encompasses a method of identifying compounds suitable for active immunization of a patient predicted to develop Alzheimer's Disease. This method comprises the steps of exposing one or more compounds of interest to one or more of the antibodies of the present invention, for a time and under conditions sufficient for the one or more compounds to bind to the one or more antibodies and then identifying those compounds which bind to the one or more antibodies, the identified compounds to be used in active immunization in a patient predicated to develop Alzheimer's Disease.

Also, the present invention includes a kit comprising one or more of the antibodies of the present invention and a conjugate comprising an antibody attached to a signal-generating compound, wherein the antibody of the conjugate is different from the one or more antibodies within the kit. A package insert may also be included in the kit which describes the procedure to be utilized in carrying out the assay as well as the components of the kit.

The present invention also includes another kit comprising an anti-antibody to one or more antibodies of the present invention and a conjugate comprising an antigen attached to a signal-generating compound. The antigen may be, for example, a globulomer. Again, a package insert may be included which describes the steps to be utilized in carrying out the assay as well as the components of the kit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The antibodies of the present invention were designed from immunization with the truncated globulomer Aβ(12-42) as described in Example 1. In particular, monoclonal antibodies 3C5 and 10F4 were generated against the truncated (12-42)-globulomer (in contrast to monoclonal antibodies 8F5 and 8C5 which have been made against the Aβ(1-42) globulomer). This Aβ(12-42) globulomer was made directly from Aβ 12-42 peptide in contrast to the procedure described in Barghorn et al. (J. Neurochem, 95, 834-847) and in Example 3, Section 6, wherein the (12-42) globulomer was made from pre-existing 1-42-globulomer by limited proteolysis. These two Aβ(12-42) globulomer variants differ in their final aggregation pattern. The one made from Aβ(12-42) peptide shows only the intermediate globulomer forms (“oligomer A” as described in WO2004/067561) and the one made from the pre-existing Aβ(1-42)-globulomer is the mature globulomer (“oligomer B” as described in WO2004/067561).

It is an object of the present invention to provide antibodies directed against Aβ globulomers which improve the cognitive performance of a patient in immunotherapy while at the same time reacting only with a small portion of the entire amount of Aβ peptide in brain. This is expected to prevent a substantial disturbance of cerebral Aβ balance and lead to less side effects. (For instance, as noted above, a therapeutically questionable reduction of brain volume has been observed in the study of active immunization with Aβ peptides in fibrillary condition of aggregation (ELAN trial with AN1792). Moreover, in this trial severe side effects in form of a meningoencephalitis were observed. The present invention solves this problem by providing globulomer-specific antibodies possessing high affinity for Aβ globulomers. These antibodies are capable of discriminating other forms of Aβ peptides, particularly monomers and fibrils. Further, these antibodies do not bind (or bind with a lower affinity compared to commercially available antibodies (such as 6E10) (Signet Cat. no.: 9320)) to amyloid beta in cerebral spinal fluid. Consequently, the present invention relates to an antibody having a binding affinity to Aβ globulomer

The term “Aβ(X-Y)” herein refers to the amino acid sequence from amino acid position X to amino acid position Y of the human amyloid β protein including both X and Y, in particular to the amino acid sequence from amino acid position X to amino acid position Y of the amino acid sequence DAEFRHDSGY EVHHQKLVFF AEDVGSNKGA IIGLMVGGVV IAT (SEQ ID NO: 21: corresponding to amino acid positions 1 to 43) or any of its naturally occurring variants, in particular those with at least one mutation selected from the group consisting of A2T, H6R, D7N, A21G (“Flemish”), E22G (“Arctic”), E22Q (“Dutch”), E22K (“Italian”), D23N (“Iowa”), A42T and A42V wherein the numbers are relative to the start of the Aβ peptide, including both position X and position Y or a sequence with up to three additional amino acid substitutions, none of which may prevent globulomer formation, preferably with no additional amino acid substitutions in the portion from amino acid 12 or X, whichever number is higher, to amino acid 42 or Y, whichever number is lower, more preferably with no additional amino acid substitutions in the portion from amino acid 20 or X, whichever number is higher, to amino acid 42 or Y, whichever number is lower, and most preferably with no additional amino acid substitutions in the portion from amino acid 20 or X, whichever number is higher, to amino acid 40 or Y, whichever number is lower, an “additional” amino acid substation herein being any deviation from the canonical sequence that is not found in nature.

The term “Aβ(1-42)” herein refers to the amino acid sequence from amino acid position 1 to amino acid position 42 of the human amyloid β protein including both 1 and 42, in particular to the amino acid sequence DAEFRHDSGY EVHHQKLVFF AEDVGSNKGA IIGLMVGGVV IA (SEQ ID NO: 22) or any of its naturally occurring variants, in particular those with at least one mutation selected from the group consisting of A2T, H6R, D7N, A21G (“Flemish”), E22G (“Arctic”), E22Q (“Dutch”), E22K (“Italian”), D23N (“Iowa”), A42T and A42V wherein the numbers are relative to the start of the Aβ peptide, including both 1 and 42 or a sequence with up to three additional amino acid substitutions none of which may prevent globulomer formation, preferably with no additional amino acid substitutions in the portion from amino acid 20 to amino acid 42. Likewise, the term “Aβ(1-40)” here refers to the amino acid sequence from amino acid position 1 to amino acid position 40 of the human amyloid 3 protein including both 1 and 40, in particular to the amino acid sequence DAEFRHDSGY EVHHQKLVFF AEDVGSNKGA IIGLMVGGVV (SEQ ID NO: 23) or any of its naturally occurring variants, in particular those with at least one mutation selected from the group consisting of A2T, H6R, D7N, A21G (“Flemish”), E22G (“Arctic”), E22Q (“Dutch”), E22K (“Italian”), and D23N 25 (“Iowa”) wherein the numbers are relative to the start of the Aβ peptide, including both 1 and 40 or a sequence with up to three additional amino acid substitutions none of which may prevent globulomer formation, preferably with no additional amino acid substitutions in the portion from amino acid 20 to amino acid 40.

The term “Aβ(12-42)” here refers to the amino acid sequence from amino acid position 12 to amino acid position 42 of the human amyloid 3 protein including both 12 and 42, in particular to the amino acid sequence VHHQKLVFF AEDVGSNKGA IIGLMVGGVV IA (SEQ ID NO: 24) or any of its naturally occurring variants, in particular, those with at least one mutation selected from the group consisting of A21G (“Flemish”), E22G (“Arctic”), E22Q (“Dutch”), E22K (“Italian”), D23N (“Iowa”), A42T and A42V wherein the numbers are relative to the start of the Aβ peptide, including both 12 and 42 or a sequence with up to three additional amino acid substitutions none of which may prevent globulomer formation, preferably with no additional amino acid substitutions in the portion from amino acid 20 to amino acid 42.

The term “Aβ(20-42)” herein refers to the amino acid sequence from amino acid position 20 to amino acid position 42 of the human amyloid 3 protein including both 20 and 42, in particular, to the amino acid sequence F AEDVGSNKGA IIGLMVGGVV IA (SEQ ID NO: 25) or any of its naturally occurring variants, in particular those with at least one mutation selected from the group consisting of A21G (“Flemish”), E22G (“Arctic”), E22Q (“Dutch”), E22K (“Italian”), D23N (“Iowa”), A42T and A42V wherein the numbers are relative to the start of the Aβ peptide, including both 20 and 42 or a sequence with up to three additional amino acid substitutions none of which may prevent globulomer formation, preferably without any additional amino acid substitutions.

The term “Aβ(X-Y) globulomer” (Aβ(X-Y) globular oligomer) herein refers to a soluble, globular, non-covalent association of Aβ(X-Y) peptides as defined above, possessing homogeneity and distinct physical characteristics. According to one aspect, the Aβ(X-Y) globulomers are stable, non-fibrillar, oligomeric assemblies of Aβ(X-Y) peptides which are obtainable by incubation with anionic detergents. In contrast to monomers and fibrils, these globulomers are characterized by defined assembly numbers of subunits (e.g. early assembly forms, n=4-6, “oligomers A”, and late assembly forms, n=12-14, “oligomers B”, as described in WO2004/067561). The globulomers have a 3-dimensional globular type structure (“molten globule”, see Barghorn et al., 2005, J Neurochem, 95, 834-847). They may be further characterized by one or more of the following features:

cleavability of N-terminal amino acids X-23 with promiscuous proteases (such as thermolysin or endoproteinase GluC) yielding truncated forms of globulomers;

non-accessibility of C-terminal amino acids 24-Y with promiscuous proteases and antibodies;

truncated forms of these globulomers maintain the 3-dimensional core structure of said globulomers with a better accessibility of the core epitope Aβ(20-Y) in its globulomer conformation.

According to the invention and, in particular, for the purpose of assessing the binding affinities of the antibodies of the present invention, the term “Aβ(X-Y) globulomer” herein refers, in particular, to a product which is obtainable by a process as described, for example, in Example I presented below. (See also WO 04/067561.) Such a process may be used to obtain Aβ(1-42) globulomers, Aβ(12-42) globulomers, and Aβ(20-42) globulomers. Preferably, the globulomer shows affinity to neuronal cells. Preferably, the globulomer also exhibits neuromodulating effects. According to another aspect of the invention, the globulomer consists of 11 to 16, and most preferably, of 12 to 14 Aβ(X-Y) peptides.

According to another aspect of the invention, the term Aβ(X-Y) globulomer” herein refers to a globulomer consisting essentially of Aβ(X-Y) subunits, where it is preferred if on average at least 11 of 12 subunits are of the Aβ(X-Y) type, more preferred if less than 10% of the globulomers comprise any non-Aβ(X-Y) peptides, and most preferred if the content of non-Aβ(X-Y) peptides is below the detection threshold. More specifically, the term “Aβ(1-42) globulomer” herein refers to a globulomer consisting essentially of Aβ(1-42) units as defined above; the term “Aβ(12-42) globulomer” herein refers to a globulomer consisting essentially of Aβ(12-42) units as defined above; and the term “Aβ(20-42) globulomer” herein refers to a globulomer consisting essentially of Aβ(20-42) units as defined above.

The term “cross-linked Aβ(X-Y) globulomer” as used herein refers to a molecule obtainable from an Aβ(X-Y) globulomer as described above by cross-linking, preferably chemically cross-linking, more preferably, aldehyde cross-linking, most preferably, glutardialdehyde cross-linking of the constituent units of the globulomer. In another aspect of the invention, a cross-linked globulomer is essentially a globulomer in which the units are at least partially joined by covalent bonds, rather than being held together by non-covalent interactions only. For the purposes of the present invention, a cross-linked Aβ(1-42) globulomer is, in particular, a cross-linked Aβ(1-42) oligomer.

The term “Aβ(X-Y) globulomer derivative” as used herein refers, in particular, to a globulomer that is labelled by being covalently linked to a group that facilitates detection, preferably, a fluorophore, e.g., fluorescein isothiocyanate, phycoerythrin, Aequorea victoria fluorescent protein, Dictyosoma fluorescent protein or any combination or fluorescence-active derivative thereof; a chromophore; a chemoluminophore, e.g., luciferase, preferably Photinus pyralis luciferase, Vibrio fischeri luciferase, or any combination or chemoluminescence-active derivative thereof; an enzymatically active group, e.g., peroxidase, e.g., horseradish peroxidase, or any enzymatically active derivative thereof; an electron-dense group, e.g., a heavy metal containing group, e.g., a gold containing group; a hapten, e.g., a phenol derived hapten; a strongly antigenic structure, e.g., peptide sequence predicted to be antigenic, e.g., predicted to be antigenic by the algorithm of Kolaskar and Tongaonkar; an aptamer for another molecule; a chelating group, e.g., hexahistidinyl; a natural or nature-derived protein structure mediating further specific protein-protein interactions, e.g., a member of the fos/jun pair; a magnetic group, e.g., a ferromagnetic group; or a radioactive group, e.g., a group comprising ¹H, ¹⁴C, ³²P, ³⁵S or ¹²⁵I or any combination thereof; or to a globulomer flagged by being covalently or by non-covalent high-affinity interaction, preferably covalently linked to a group that facilitates inactivation, sequestration, degradation and/or precipitation, preferably flagged with a group that promotes in vivo degradation, more preferably with ubiquitin, where is particularly preferred if this flagged oligomer is assembled in vivo; or to a globulomer modified by any combination of the above. Such labelling and flagging groups and methods for attaching them to proteins are known in the art. Labelling and/or flagging may be performed before, during or after globulomerization. In another aspect of the invention, a globulomer derivative is a molecule obtainable from a globulomer by a labelling and/or flagging reaction. Correspondingly, term “Aβ(X-Y) monomer derivative” herein refers, in particular, to an Aβ monomer that is labelled or flagged as described for the globulomer.

The term “greater affinity” herein refers to a degree of interaction where the equilibrium between unbound antibody and unbound globulomer on the one hand and antibody-globulomer complex on the other is further in favor of the antibody-globulomer complex. Likewise, the term “smaller affinity” herein refers to a degree of interaction where the equilibrium between unbound antibody and unbound globulomer on the one hand and antibody-globulomer complex on the other is further in favour of the unbound antibody and unbound globulomer. The term “greater affinity” is synonymous with the term “higher affinity” and term “smaller affinity” is synonymous with the term “lower affinity”.

The term “Aβ(X-Y) monomer” herein refers to the isolated form of the Aβ(X-Y) peptide, preferably, a form of the Aβ(X-Y) peptide which is not engaged in essentially non-covalent interactions with other Aβ peptides. Practically, the Aβ(X-Y) monomer is usually provided in the form of an aqueous solution. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the aqueous monomer solution contains 0.05% to 0.2%, more preferably, about 0.1% NH₄OH. In another particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the aqueous monomer solution contains 0.05% to 0.2%, more preferably, about 0.1% NaOH. When used (for instance, for determining the binding affinities of the antibodies of the present invention), it may be expedient to dilute said solution in an appropriate manner. Further, it is usually expedient to use said solution within 2 hours, in particular, within 1 hour, and especially within 30 minutes after its preparation.

The term “fibril” herein refers to a molecular structure that comprises assemblies of non-covalently associated, individual Aβ(X-Y) peptides, which show fibrillary structure in the electron microscope, which bind Congo red and then exhibit birefringence under polarized light and whose X-ray diffraction pattern is a cross-β structure. In another aspect of the invention, a fibril is a molecular structure obtainable by a process that comprises the self-induced polymeric aggregation of a suitable Aβ peptide in the absence of detergents, e.g., in 0.1 M HCl, leading to the formation of aggregates of more than 24, preferably more than 100 units. This process is well known in the art. Expediently, Aβ(X-Y) fibrils are used in the form of an aqueous solution. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the aqueous fibril solution is made by dissolving the Aβ peptide in 0.1% NH₄OH, diluting it 1:4 with 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4, followed by readjusting the pH to 7.4, incubating the solution at 37° C. for 20 h, followed by centrifugation at 10000 g for 10 min and resuspension in 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4.

The term “Aβ(X-Y) fibril” herein refers to a fibril consisting essentially of Aβ(X-Y) subunits, where it is preferred if on average at least 90% of the subunits are of the Aβ(X-Y) type, more preferred, if at least 98% of the subunits are of the Aβ(X-Y) type and, most preferred, if the content of non-Aβ(X-Y) peptides is below the detection threshold.

The present invention also relates to antibodies having a similar binding profile to that of any one of said monoclonal antibodies, 10F4 and 3C5. Antibodies having a binding profile similar to that of any one of said monoclonal antibodies include antibodies which bind to the same epitope as monoclonal antibody 10F4 and 3C5.

The present invention also relates to antibodies which are capable of competing with at least one, preferably all, antibodies selected from the group consisting of 10F4 and 3C5. The term “competing antibodies” herein refers to any number of antibodies targeting the same molecular or stably but non-covalently linked supermolecular entity, preferably, the same molecule, wherein at least one is capable of specifically reducing the measurable binding of another, preferably, by sterically hampering the other's access to its target epitope or by inducing and/or stabilizing a conformation in the target entity that reduces the target's affinity for the other antibody, more preferably, by directly blocking access to the other's target epitope by binding to an epitope in sufficiently close vicinity of the former, overlapping with the former or identical to the former, most preferably, overlapping or identical, in particular identical. Two epitopes are said to be “overlapping” if they share part of their chemical structures, preferably their amino acid sequences, and to be “identical” if their chemical structures, preferably their amino acid sequences, are identical. Thus, the present invention also relates to antibodies whose target epitopes are overlapping with, preferably identical to, the target epitope of at least one of the antibodies selected from the group consisting of 10F4 and 3C5. Antibodies having a similar binding profile to that of any one of said monoclonal antibodies 10F4 and 3C5 thus further include antibodies which comprise at least a portion of the antigen-binding moiety of any one of said monoclonal antibodies. Preferably, said portion comprises at least one complementary determining region (CDR) of any one of said monoclonal antibodies. Thus, according to a further particular embodiment, the present invention relates to antibodies comprising the amino acid sequence of the heavy chain CDR3 and/or the amino acid sequence of the light chain CDR3 of monoclonal antibody 10F4 or 3C5, respectively. Specific examples of such antibodies include those which also comprise the amino acid sequence of the heavy chain CDR2 and/or the amino acid sequence of the light chain CDR2 of monoclonal antibody 10F4 or 3C5, respectively. Even more specifically, such antibodies include those which also comprise the amino acid sequence of the heavy chain CDR1 and/or the amino acid sequence of the light chain CDR1 of monoclonal antibody 10F4 or 3C5, respectively. In one aspect, the present invention thus relates to antibodies comprising a heavy chain wherein the CDR3, CDR2 and/or CDR1 domain comprises the amino acid sequence of the heavy chain CDR3, CDR2 and/or CDR1 of monoclonal antibody 10F4 or 3C5. In a further aspect, the present invention thus relates to antibodies comprising a light chain wherein the CDR3, CDR2 and/or CDR1 domain comprises the amino acid sequence of the light chain CDR3, CDR2 and/or CDR1, respectively, of monoclonal antibody 10F4 or 3C5.

In one embodiment the antibody of the invention comprises at least two variable domain CDR sets. More preferably, the two variable domain CDR sets are selected from the group consisting of: VH 10F4 CDR Set & VL 10F4 CDR Set; VH 3C5 CDR Set & VL 3C5 CDR Set (see FIGS. 7a-7d ).

In another embodiment the antibody disclosed above further comprises a human acceptor framework. In a preferred embodiment, the antibody is a CDR grafted antibody. Preferably, the CDR grafted antibody comprises one or more of the CDRs disclosed above. Preferably the CDR grafted antibody comprises a human acceptor framework.

In a preferred embodiment the antibody is a humanized antibody. Preferably, the humanized antibody comprises one or more of the CDRs disclosed above. More preferably, the humanized antibody comprises three or more of the CDRs disclosed above. Most preferably, the humanized antibody comprises six CDRs disclosed above. In a particular embodiment, the CDRs are incorporated into a human antibody variable domain of a human acceptor framework. Preferably, the human antibody variable domain is a consensus human variable domain. More preferably, the human acceptor framework comprises at least one framework region amino acid substitution at a key residue, wherein the key residue is selected from the group consisting of a residue adjacent to a CDR; a glycosylation site residue; a rare residue; a residue capable of interacting with a CDR; a canonical residue; a contact residue between heavy chain variable region and light chain variable region; a residue within a Vernier zone; and a residue in a region that overlaps between a Chothia-defined variable heavy chain CDR1 and a Kabat-defined first heavy chain framework. Preferably, the human acceptor framework human acceptor framework comprises at least one framework region amino acid substitution, wherein the amino acid sequence of the framework is at least 65% identical to the sequence of said human acceptor framework and comprises at least 70 amino acid residues identical to said human acceptor framework. In yet a further aspect, the present invention relates to antibodies comprising both the heavy and light chain as defined above. Preferably, the antibody comprises at least one variable domain as described above. More preferably, the antibody comprises two variable domains as described above, wherein said two variable domains have amino acid sequences as noted in FIG. 7.

In another aspect, the antibodies of the present invention comprise a heavy chain constant region selected from the group consisting of IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgM, IgA, IgD, IgE and human IgG1 Ala234 Ala235 mutant constant regions. In particular, the antibodies comprise a human constant region. Antibodies comprising an IgG1 heavy chain constant region are preferred.

In another embodiment the antibody is glycosylated. Preferably the glycosylation pattern is a human glycosylation pattern or a glycosylation pattern produced by any one of the eukaryotic cells disclosed herein, in particular CHO cells.

The present invention also relates to an antigen-binding moiety of an antibody of the present invention. Such antigen-binding moieties include, but are not limited to, Fab fragments, F(ab′)₂ fragments and single chain Fv fragments of the antibody. Further antigen-binding moieties are Fab′ fragments, Fv fragments, and disulfide linked Fv fragments.

The invention also provides an isolated nucleic acid encoding any one of the antibodies disclosed herein. A further embodiment provides a vector comprising the isolated nucleic acid disclosed herein. The vector may in particular be selected from the group consisting of pcDNA; pTT (Durocher et al., Nucleic Acids Research 2002, Vol 30, No. 2); pTT3 (pTT with additional multiple cloning site; pEFBOS (Mizushima, S. and Nagata, S., (1990) Nucleic acids Research Vol 18, No. 17); pBV; pJV; and pBJ.

In another aspect, a host cell is transformed with the vector disclosed herein. Preferably, the host cell is a prokaryotic cell. More preferably, the host cell is E. coli. In a related embodiment, the host cell is an eukaryotic cell. Preferably, the eukaryotic cell is selected from the group consisting of a protist cell, an animal cell, a plant cell and a fungal cell. More preferably, the host cell is a mammalian cell including, but not limited to, CHO and COS; or a fungal cell such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae; or an insect cell such as Sf9.

Another aspect of the invention provides a method of producing an antibody of the invention, comprising culturing any one of the host cells or a hybridoma disclosed herein in a culture medium under conditions suitable to produce the antibody. Another embodiment provides an antibody that is obtainable by the method disclosed herein. Antibodies of the present invention can be obtained in a manner known per se. B lymphocytes which, in totality, contain an antibody repertoire composed of hundreds of billions of different antibody specificities are a part of the mammalian immune system. A normal immune response to a particular antigen means selection of one or more antibodies of said repertoire which specifically bind to said antigen, and the success of an immune response is based at least partially on the ability of said antibodies to specifically recognize (and ultimately to eliminate) the stimulating antigen and to ignore other molecules in the environment of said antibodies. The usefulness of antibodies which specifically recognize one particular target antigen has led to the development of monoclonal antibody technology. Standardized hybridoma technology now allows the production of antibodies with a single specificity for an antigen of interest. More recently, recombinant antibody techniques such as in-vitro screening of antibody libraries have been developed. These techniques likewise allow antibodies having a single specificity for an antigen of interest to be produced.

In the method of the invention, the antigen of interest may be allowed to act on the antibody repertoire either in vivo or in vitro. According to one embodiment, the antigen is allowed to act on the repertoire by immunizing an animal in vivo with said antigen. This in-vivo approach may furthermore comprise establishing from the lymphocytes of an animal a number of hybridomas and selecting a particular hybridoma which secretes an antibody specifically binding to said antigen. The animal to be immunized may be, for example, a mouse, rat, rabbit, chicken, camelid or sheep or may be a transgenic version of any of the animals mentioned above, for example, a transgenic mouse with human immunoglobulin genes, which produces human antibodies after an antigenic stimulus. Other types of animals which may be immunized include mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) which have been reconstituted with human peripheral mononuclear blood cells (chimeric hu-PBMC SCID mice) or with lymphoid cells or precursors thereof, as well as mice which have been treated with a lethal total body irradiation, then protected against radiation with bone marrow cells from a mouse with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and subsequently transplanted with functional human lymphocytes (the “Trimera” system). Another type of an animal to be immunized is an animal (e.g., a mouse) in whose genome an endogenous gene encoding the antigen of interest has been switched off (knocked out), for example, by homologous recombination, so that after immunization with the antigen, said animal recognizes said antigen as foreign. The polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies produced by this method are characterized and selected by using known screening methods which include, but are not limited to, ELISA and dot blot techniques.

According to another embodiment, the antigen is allowed to act on the antibody repertoire in vitro by screening a recombinant antibody library with said antigen. The recombinant antibody library may be expressed, for example, on the surface of bacteriophages or on the surface of yeast cells or on the surface of bacterial cells. In a variety of embodiments, the recombinant antibody library is an scFv library or an Fab library, for example. According to another embodiment, antibody libraries are expressed as RNA-protein fusions.

Another approach to producing antibodies of the invention comprises a combination of in vivo and in vitro approaches. For example, the antigen may be allowed to act on the antibody repertoire by immunizing an animal in vivo with said antigen and then screening in vitro with said antigen a recombinant antibody library prepared from lymphoid cells of said animal or a single domain antibody library (e.g., containing heavy and/or light chains). According to another approach, the antigen is allowed to act on the antibody repertoire by immunizing an animal in vivo with said antigen and then subjecting a recombinant antibody library or single domain library produced from lymphoid cells of said animal to affinity maturation. According to another approach, the antigen is allowed to act on the antibody repertoire by immunizing an animal in vivo with said antigen, then selecting individual antibody-producing cells secreting an antibody of interest and obtaining from said selected cells cDNAs for the variable region of the heavy and light chains (e.g., by means of PCR) and expressing said variable regions of the heavy and light chains in mammalian host cells in vitro (this being referred to as selected lymphocyte antibody method or SLAM), thereby being able to further select and manipulate the selected antibody gene sequences. Moreover, monoclonal antibodies may be selected by expression cloning by expressing the antibody genes for the heavy and light chains in mammalian cells and selecting those mammalian cells which secrete an antibody having the desired binding affinity.

The methods of the invention for producing antibodies can be used to produce various types of antibodies. These include monoclonal, in particular recombinant antibodies, especially essentially human antibodies, chimeric antibodies, humanized antibodies and CDR graft antibodies, and also antigen-binding moieties thereof.

The present invention further relates to a hybridoma that is capable of producing (secreting) a monoclonal antibody of the present invention. Hybridomas of the present invention include those designated by an American Type Culture Collection deposit number selected from the group consisting of PTA-7808 and PTA-7406 and those producing monoclonal antibodies 10F4 and 3C5.

It is noted that the antibodies of the present invention may also be reactive with, i.e., bind to, Aβ forms other than the Aβ globulomers described herein. These antigens may or may not be oligomeric or globulomeric. Thus, the antigens to which the antibodies of the present invention bind include any Aβ form that comprises the globulomer epitope with which the antibodies of the present invention are reactive. Such Aβ forms include truncated and non-truncated Aβ(X-Y) forms (with X and Y being defined as above), such as Aβ(20-42), Aβ(20-40), Aβ(12-42), Aβ(12-40), Aβ(1-42), and Aβ(1-40) forms, provided that said forms comprise the globulomer epitope.

The present invention also relates to a composition comprising an antibody of the invention or an antigen-binding moiety thereof, as defined above. According to a particular embodiment, said composition is a pharmaceutical composition which comprises the antibody of the invention or the antigen-binding moiety and a pharmaceutical acceptable carrier. The antibody of the invention or the antigen-binding moiety, as defined above, is preferably capable of neutralizing, both in vitro and in vivo, the activity of Aβ globulomer or a derivative thereof to which it binds. Said antibody or antigen-binding moiety may therefore be used for inhibiting the activity of said globulomer or derivative thereof, for example, in a preparation containing said globulomer or derivative thereof or in human individuals or other mammals in which said globulomer or derivative thereof is present.

According to one embodiment, the invention relates to a method of inhibiting the activity of said globulomer or derivative thereof which method comprises allowing an antibody of the invention or an antigen-binding moiety thereof to act on a globulomer or derivative thereof so as to inhibit the activity of said globulomer or derivative thereof. Said activity may be inhibited in vitro, for example. For instance, the antibody of the invention or the antigen-binding moiety may be added to a preparation such as a sample derived from a subject or a cell culture which contains or is suspected to contain said globulomer or derivative thereof, in order to inhibit the activity of said globulomer or derivative thereof in said sample. Alternatively, the activity of the globulomer or derivative thereof may be inhibited in an individual in vivo. Thus, the present invention further relates to the use of an antibody or an antigen-binding moiety as defined above for preparing a pharmaceutical composition for treating or preventing an amyloidosis, in particular, an amyloidosis selected from the group consisting of Alzheimer's disease and the amyloidosis of Down's syndrome. One aspect of said use of the invention is therefore a method of treating or preventing an amyloidosis, in particular, Alzheimer's disease or the amyloidosis of Down's syndrome, in a subject in need thereof, which comprises administering an antibody or an antigen-binding moiety as defined above to the subject. Using said antibody or antigen-binding moiety for treating and especially preventing the amyloidosis, in particular, Alzheimer's disease or the amyloidosis of Down's syndrome, is in particular for passive immunization. Accordingly, in the method of treating or preventing an amyloidosis, in particular Alzheimer's disease or the amyloidosis of Down's syndrome, in a subject in need thereof one purpose of administering the antibody or antigen-binding moiety to the subject is passively immunizing the subject against the amyloidosis, in particular, Alzheimer's disease or the amyloidosis of Down's syndrome.

The antibody of the invention or the antigen-binding moiety as defined above is preferably capable of detecting, both in vitro and in vivo, an Aβ globulomer or derivative thereof to which it binds. Said antibody or the antigen-binding moiety may therefore be used for detecting said globulomer or derivative thereof, for example, in a preparation containing said globulomer or derivative thereof or in human individuals or other mammals in which said globulomer or derivatives thereof is present.

According to one embodiment, the invention relates to a method of detecting said globulomer or derivative thereof, which method comprises allowing an antibody of the invention or an antigen-binding moiety thereof to act on a globulomer or derivative thereof so as to bind to said globulomer or derivative thereof (and thereby preferably forming a complex comprising the antibody or antigen-binding moiety thereof and the globulomer or derivative thereof). The globulomer may be detected in vitro, for example. For instance, the antibody of the invention or the antigen-binding moiety may be added to a preparation, for instance, a sample derived from a subject or a cell culture which contains or is suspected to contain said globulomer or derivative thereof, in order to detect said globulomer or derivative thereof in said preparation. Alternatively, the globulomer or derivative thereof may be detected in an individual in vivo. Thus, the present invention further relates to the use of an antibody or an antigen-binding moiety as defined above for preparing a composition for diagnosing an amyloidosis, in particular Alzheimer's disease or the amyloidosis of Down's syndrome. One aspect of said use of the invention is a method of diagnosing an amyloidosis, in particular, Alzheimer's disease or the amyloidosis of Down's syndrome, in a subject suspected of having the amyloidosis, in particular Alzheimer's disease or the amyloidosis of Down's syndrome, which comprises administering to the subject an antibody or an antigen-binding moiety as defined above and detecting the formation of a complex comprising the antibody or the antigen-binding moiety with the antigen, the presence of the complex indicating the amyloidosis, in particular Alzheimer's disease or the amyloidosis of Down's syndrome, in the subject. A second aspect of said use of the invention is a method of diagnosing an amyloidosis, in particular, Alzheimer's disease or the amyloidosis of Down's syndrome, in a subject suspect of having the amyloidosis, in particular, Alzheimer's disease or the amyloidosis of Down's syndrome, which comprises providing a sample from the subject, contacting the sample with an antibody or an antigen-binding moiety (as defined) above and detecting the formation of a complex comprising the antibody or the antigen-binding moiety with the antigen, the presence of the complex indicating the amyloidosis, in particular, Alzheimer's disease or the amyloidosis of Down's syndrome, in the subject.

The binding affinities of the antibodies of the invention may be evaluated by using standardized in-vitro immunoassays such as ELISA, dot blot or BIAcore analyses (Pharmacia Biosensor AB, Uppsala, Sweden and Piscataway, N.J.). For further descriptions, see Jönsson, U., et al. (1993) Ann. Biol. Clin. 51:19-26; Jönsson, U., et al. (1991) Biotechniques 11:620-627; Johnsson, B., et al. (1995) J. Mol. Recognit. 8:125-131; and Johnnson, B., et al. (1991) Anal. Biochem. 198:268-277. According to a particular embodiment, the affinities defined herein refer to the values obtained by performing a dot blot and evaluating it by densitometry. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, determining the binding affinity by dot blot comprises the following: a certain amount of the antigen (e.g. the Aβ(X-Y) globulomer, Aβ(X-Y) monomer or Aβ(x-Y) fibrils, as defined above) or, expediently, an appropriate dilution thereof, for instance in 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4, 0.2 mg/mL BSA to an antigen concentration of, for example, 100 pmol/μL, 10 pmol/μL, 1 pmol/μL, 0.1 pmol/μL and 0.01 pmol/μL, is dotted onto a nitrocellulose membrane, the membrane is then blocked with milk to prevent unspecific binding and washed, then contacted with the antibody of interest followed by detection of the latter by means of an enzyme-conjugated secondary antibody and a colorimetric reaction; at defined antibody concentrations, the amount of antibody bound allows affinity determination. Thus the relative affinity of two different antibodies to one target, or of one antibody to two different targets, is here defined as the relation of the respective amounts of target-bound antibody observed with the two antibody-target combinations under otherwise identical dot blot conditions. Unlike a similar approach based on Western blotting, the dot blot approach will determine an antibody's affinity to a given target in the latter's natural conformation; unlike the ELISA approach, the dot blot approach does not suffer from differences in the affinities between different targets and the matrix, thereby allowing for more precise comparisons between different targets.

The term “K_(d)”, as used herein, is intended to refer to the dissociation constant of a particular antibody-antigen interaction as is known in the art.

The antibodies of the present invention are preferably isolated antibodies. An isolated antibody” means an antibody having the binding affinities as described above and which is essentially free of other antibodies having different binding affinities. The term “essentially free” here refers to an antibody preparation in which at least 95% of the antibodies, preferably at least 98% of the antibodies and more preferably at least 99% of the antibodies have the desired binding affinity. Moreover, an isolated antibody may be substantially free of other cellular material and/or chemicals.

The isolated antibodies of the present invention include monoclonal antibodies. A “monoclonal antibody” as used herein is intended to refer to a preparation of antibody molecules, antibodies which share a common heavy chain and common light chain amino acid sequence, in contrast with “polyclonal” antibody preparations which contain a mixture of antibodies of different amino acid sequence. Monoclonal antibodies can be generated by several novel technologies like phage, bacteria, yeast or ribosomal display, as well as by classical methods exemplified by hybridoma-derived antibodies (e.g., an antibody secreted by a hybridoma prepared by hybridoma technology, such as the standard Kohler and Milstein hybridoma methodology ((1975) Nature 256:495-497). Thus, a non-hybridoma-derived antibody with uniform sequence is still referred to as a monoclonal antibody herein although it may have been obtained by non-classical methodologies, and the term “monoclonal” is not restricted to hybridoma-derived antibodies but used to refer to all antibodies derived from one nucleic acid clone. Thus, the monoclonal antibodies of the present invention include recombinant antibodies. The term “recombinant” as used herein refers to any artificial combination of two otherwise separated segments of sequence, e.g., by chemical synthesis or by the manipulation of isolated segments of nucleic acids by genetic engineering techniques. In particular, the term “recombinant antibody” refers to antibodies which are produced, expressed, generated or isolated by recombinant means, such as antibodies which are expressed using a recombinant expression vector transfected into a host cell; antibodies isolated from a recombinant combinatorial antibody library; antibodies isolated from an animal (e.g. a mouse) which is transgenic due to human immunoglobulin genes (see, for example, Taylor, L. D., et al. (1992) Nucl. Acids Res. 20:6287-6295); or antibodies which are produced, expressed, generated or isolated in any other way in which particular immunoglobulin gene sequences (such as human immunoglobulin gene sequences) are assembled with other DNA sequences. Recombinant antibodies include, for example, chimeric, CDR graft and humanized antibodies. The person skilled in the art will be aware that expression of a conventional hybridoma-derived monoclonal antibody in a heterologous system will require the generation of a recombinant antibody even if the amino acid sequence of the resulting antibody protein is not changed or intended to be changed.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the antibody is a humanized antibody. According to a multiplicity of embodiments, the antibody may comprise an amino acid sequence derived entirely from a single species, such as a human antibody or a mouse antibody. According to other embodiments, the antibody may be a chimeric antibody or a CDR graft antibody or another form of a humanized antibody.

The term “antibody” is intended to refer to immunoglobulin molecules consisting of 4 polypeptide chains, two heavy (H) chains and two light (L) chains. The chains are usually linked to one another via disulfide bonds. Each heavy chain is composed of a variable region of said heavy chain (abbreviated here as HCVR or VH) and a constant region of said heavy chain. The heavy chain constant region consists of three domains CH1, CH2 and CH3. Each light chain is composed of a variable region of said light chain (abbreviated here as LCVR or VL) and a constant region of said light chain. The light chain constant region consists of a CL domain. The VH and VL regions may be further divided into hypervariable regions referred to as complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) and interspersed with conserved regions referred to as framework regions (FR). Each VH and VL region thus consists of three CDRs and four FRs which are arranged from the N terminus to the C terminus in the following order: FR1, CDR1, FR2, CDR2, FR3, CDR3, FR4. This structure is well known to those skilled in the art.

The term “antigen-binding moiety” of an antibody (or simply “antibody moiety”) refers to one or more fragments of an antibody of the invention, said fragment(s) still having the binding affinities as defined above. Fragments of a complete antibody have been shown to be able to carry out the antigen-binding function of an antibody. In accordance with the term “antigen-binding moiety” of an antibody, examples of binding fragments include (i) an Fab fragment, i.e. a monovalent fragment composed of the VL, VH, CL and CH1 domains; (ii) an F(ab′)₂ fragment, i.e. a bivalent fragment comprising two Fab fragments linked to one another in the hinge region via a disulfide bridge; (iii) an Fd fragment composed of the VH and CH1 domains; (iv) an Fv fragment composed of the FL and VH domains of a single arm of an antibody; (v) a dAb fragment (Ward et al., (1989) Nature 341:544-546) consisting of a VH domain or of VH, CH1, CH2, DH3, or VH, CH2, CH3; and (vi) an isolated complementarity-determining region (CDR). Although the two domains of the Fv fragment, namely VL and VH, are encoded by separate genes, they may further be linked to one another using a synthetic linker, e.g. a poly-G₄S amino acid sequence, and recombinant methods, making it possible to prepare them as a single protein chain in which the VL and VH regions combine in order to form monovalent molecules (known as single chain Fv (ScFv); see, for example, Bird et al. (1988) Science 242:423-426; and Huston et al. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:5879-5883). The term “antigen-binding moiety” of an antibody is also intended to comprise such single chain antibodies. Other forms of single chain antibodies such as “diabodies” are likewise included here. Diabodies are bivalent, bispecific antibodies in which VH and VL domains are expressed on a single polypeptide chain, but using a linker which is too short for the two domains being able to combine on the same chain, thereby forcing said domains to pair with complementary domains of a different chain and to form two antigen-binding sites (see, for example, Holliger, P., et al. (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:6444-6448; Poljak, R. J., et al. (1994) Structure 2:1121-1123). An immunoglobulin constant domain refers to a heavy or light chain constant domain. Human IgG heavy chain and light chain constant domain amino acid sequences are known in the art.

Furthermore, an antibody of the present invention or antigen-binding moiety thereof may be part of a larger immunoadhesion molecule formed by covalent or noncovalent association of said antibody or antibody moiety with one or more further proteins or peptides. Relevant to such immunoadhesion molecules are the use of the streptavidin core region in order to prepare a tetrameric scFv molecule (Kipriyanov, S. M., et al. (1995) Human Antibodies and Hybridomas 6:93-101) and the use of a cystein residue, a marker peptide and a C-terminal polyhistidinyl, e.g. hexahistidinyl, tag in order to produce bivalent and biotinylated scFv molecules (Kipriyanov, S. M., et al. (1994) Mol. Immunol. 31:1047-1058).

The term “human antibody” refers to antibodies whose variable and constant regions correspond to or are derived from immunoglobulin sequences of the human germ line, as described, for example, by Kabat et al. (see Kabat, et al. (1991) Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, Fifth Edition, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH Publication No. 91-3242). However, the human antibodies of the invention may contain amino acid residues not encoded by human germ line immunoglobulin sequences (for example mutations which have been introduced by random or site-specific mutagenesis in vitro or by somatic mutation in vivo), for example in the CDRs, and in particular in CDR3. Recombinant human antibodies of the invention have variable regions and may also contain constant regions derived from immunoglobulin sequences of the human germ line (see Kabat, E. A., et al. (1991) Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, Fifth Edition, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH

Publication No. 91-3242). According to particular embodiments, however, such recombinant human antibodies are subjected to in-vitro mutagenesis (or to a somatic in-vivo mutagenesis, if an animal is used which is transgenic due to human Ig sequences) so that the amino acid sequences of the VH and VL regions of the recombinant antibodies are sequences which although related to or derived from VH and VL sequences of the human germ line, do not naturally exist in vivo within the human antibody germ line repertoire. According to particular embodiments, recombinant antibodies of this kind are the result of selective mutagenesis or back mutation or of both. Preferably, mutagenesis leads to an affinity to the target which is greater, and/or an affinity to non-target structures which is smaller than that of the parent antibody.

The term “chimeric antibody” refers to antibodies which contain sequences for the variable region of the heavy and light chains from one species and constant region sequences from another species, such as antibodies having murine heavy and light chain variable regions linked to human constant regions.

The term “CDR-grafted antibody” refers to antibodies which comprise heavy and light chain variable region sequences from one species but in which the sequences of one or more of the CDR regions of VH and/or VL are replaced with CDR sequences of another species, such as antibodies having murine heavy and light chain variable regions in which one or more of the murine CDRs (e.g., CDR3) has been replaced with human CDR sequences.

The term “humanized antibody” refers to antibodies which contain sequences of the variable region of heavy and light chains from a nonhuman species (e.g. mouse, rat, rabbit, chicken, camelid, sheep or goat) but in which at least one part of the VH and/or VL sequence has been altered in order to be more “human-like”, i.e. to be more similar to variable sequences of the human germ line. One type of a humanized antibody is a CDR graft antibody in which human CDR sequences have been inserted into nonhuman VH and VL sequences to replace the corresponding nonhuman CDR sequences.

The terms “Kabat numbering”, “Kabat definitions” and “Kabat labeling” are used interchangeably herein. These terms, which are recognized in the art, refer to a system of numbering amino acid residues which are more variable (i.e. hypervariable) than other amino acid residues in the heavy and light chain variable regions of an antibody, or an antigen binding portion thereof (Kabat et al. (1971) Ann. NY Acad, Sci. 190:382-391 and Kabat, E. A., et al. (1991) Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, Fifth Edition, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH Publication No. 91-3242).

As used herein, the terms “acceptor” and “acceptor antibody” refer to the antibody or nucleic acid sequence providing or encoding at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98% or 100% of the amino acid sequences of one or more of the framework regions. In some embodiments, the term “acceptor” refers to the antibody amino acid or nucleic acid sequence providing or encoding the constant region(s). In yet another embodiment, the term “acceptor” refers to the antibody amino acid or nucleic acid sequence providing or encoding one or more of the framework regions and the constant region(s). In a specific embodiment, the term “acceptor” refers to a human antibody amino acid or nucleic acid sequence that provides or encodes at least 80%, preferably, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or 100% of the amino acid sequences of one or more of the framework regions. In accordance with this embodiment, an acceptor may contain at least 1, at least 2, at least 3, least 4, at least 5, or at least 10 amino acid residues not occurring at one or more specific positions of a human antibody. An acceptor framework region and/or acceptor constant region(s) may be, e.g., derived or obtained from a germline antibody gene, a mature antibody gene, a functional antibody (e.g., antibodies well-known in the art, antibodies in development, or antibodies commercially available).

As used herein, the term “CDR” refers to the complementarity determining region within antibody variable sequences. There are three CDRs in each of the variable regions of the heavy chain and of the light chain, which are designated CDR1, CDR2 and CDR3, for each of the variable regions. The term “CDR set” as used herein refers to a group of three CDRs that occur in a single variable region capable of binding the antigen. The exact boundaries of these CDRs have been defined differently according to different systems. The system described by Kabat (Kabat et al., Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. (1987) and (1991)) not only provides an unambiguous residue numbering system applicable to any variable region of an antibody, but also provides precise residue boundaries defining the three CDRs. These CDRs may be referred to as Kabat CDRs. Chothia and coworkers (Chothia & Lesk, J. Mol. Biol. 196:901-917 (1987) and Chothia et al., Nature 342:877-883 (1989)) found that certain sub-portions within Kabat CDRs adopt nearly identical peptide backbone conformations, in spite of great diversity at the level of amino acid sequence. These sub-portions were designated as L1, L2 and L3 or H1, H2 and H3 where the “L” and the “H” designates the light chain and the heavy chains regions, respectively. These regions may be referred to as Chothia CDRs, which have boundaries that overlap with Kabat CDRs. Other boundaries defining CDRs overlapping with the Kabat CDRs have been described by Padlan (FASEB J. 9:133-139 (1995)) and MacCallum (J Mol Biol 262(5):732-45 (1996)). Still other CDR boundary definitions may not strictly follow one of the above systems, but will nonetheless overlap with the Kabat CDRs, although they may be shortened or lengthened in light of prediction or experimental findings that particular residues or groups of residues or even entire CDRs do not significantly impact antigen binding. The methods used herein may utilize CDRs defined according to any of these systems, although preferred embodiments use Kabat or Chothia defined CDRs.

As used herein, the term “canonical” residue refers to a residue in a CDR or framework that defines a particular canonical CDR structure as defined by Chothia et al. (J. Mol. Biol. 196:901-907 (1987); Chothia et al., J. Mol. Biol. 227:799 (1992), both are incorporated herein by reference). According to Chothia et al., critical portions of the CDRs of many antibodies have nearly identical peptide backbone confirmations despite great diversity at the level of amino acid sequence. Each canonical structure specifies primarily a set of peptide backbone torsion angles for a contiguous segment of amino acid residues forming a loop.

As used herein, the terms “donor” and “donor antibody” refer to an antibody providing one or more CDRs. In a preferred embodiment, the donor antibody is an antibody from a species different from the antibody from which the framework regions are obtained or derived. In the context of a humanized antibody, the term “donor antibody” refers to a non-human antibody providing one or more CDRs.

As used herein, the term “framework” or “framework sequence” refers to the remaining sequences of a variable region minus the CDRs. Because the exact definition of a CDR sequence can be determined using different systems, the meaning of a framework sequence is subject to correspondingly different interpretations. The six CDRs (CDR-L1, -L2, and -L3 of light chain and CDR-H1, -H2, and -H3 of heavy chain) also divide the framework regions on the light chain and the heavy chain into four sub-regions (FR1, FR2, FR3 and FR4) on each chain, in which CDR1 is positioned between FR1 and FR2, CDR2 between FR2 and FR3, and CDR3 between FR3 and FR4. Without specifying the particular sub-regions as FR1, FR2, FR3 or FR4, a framework region, as referred by others, represents the combined FR's within the variable region of a single, naturally occurring immunoglobulin chain. As used herein, a FR represents one of the four sub-regions, and FRs represents two or more of the four sub-regions constituting a framework region. Human heavy chain and light chain acceptor sequences are known in the art.

As used herein, the term “germline antibody gene” or “gene fragment” refers to an immunoglobulin sequence encoded by non-lymphoid cells that have not undergone the maturation process that leads to genetic rearrangement and mutation for expression of a particular immunoglobulin. (See, e.g., Shapiro et al., Crit. Rev. Immunol. 22(3): 183-200 (2002); Marchalonis et al., Adv Exp Med. Biol. 484:13-30 (2001)). One of the advantages provided by various embodiments of the present invention stems from the finding that germline antibody genes are more likely than mature antibody genes are to conserve essential amino acid sequence structures characteristic of individuals in the species, hence less likely to be recognized as non-self when used in that species.

As used herein, the term “key” residues refers to certain residues within the variable region that have more impact on the binding specificity and/or affinity of an antibody, in particular a humanized antibody. A key residue includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: a residue that is adjacent to a CDR, a potential glycosylation site (which can be either N- or O-glycosylation site), a rare residue, a residue capable of interacting with the antigen, a residue capable of interacting with a CDR, a canonical residue, a contact residue between heavy chain variable region and light chain variable region, a residue within the Vernier zone, and a residue in the region that overlaps between the Chothia definition of a variable heavy chain CDR1 and the Kabat definition of the first heavy chain framework.

As used herein, the term “humanized antibody” specifically refers to an antibody or a variant, derivative, analog or fragment thereof which immunospecifically binds to an antigen of interest and which comprises a framework (FR) region having substantially the amino acid sequence of a human antibody and a complementary determining region (CDR) having substantially the amino acid sequence of a non-human antibody. As used herein, the term “substantially” in the context of a CDR refers to a CDR having an amino acid sequence at least 80%, preferably at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98% or at least 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of a non-human antibody CDR. A humanized antibody comprises substantially all of at least one, and typically two, variable domains (Fab, Fab′, F(ab′)₂, FabC, Fv) in which all or substantially all of the CDR regions correspond to those of a non-human immunoglobulin (i.e., donor antibody) and all or substantially all of the framework regions are those of a human immunoglobulin consensus sequence. Preferably, a humanized antibody also comprises at least a portion of an immunoglobulin constant region (Fc), typically that of a human immunoglobulin. In some embodiments, a humanized antibody contains both the light chain as well as at least the variable domain of a heavy chain. The antibody also may include the CH1, hinge, CH2, CH3, and CH4 regions of the heavy chain. In some embodiments, a humanized antibody only contains a humanized light chain. In some embodiments, a humanized antibody only contains a humanized heavy chain. In specific embodiments, a humanized antibody only contains a humanized variable domain of a light chain and/or humanized heavy chain. The humanized antibody can be selected from any class of immunoglobulins, including IgM, IgG, IgD, IgA and IgE, and any subclass, including without limitation IgG 1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4. The framework and CDR regions of a humanized antibody need not correspond precisely to the parental sequences, e.g., the donor antibody CDR or the consensus framework may be mutagenized by substitution, insertion and/or deletion of at least one amino acid residue so that the CDR or framework residue at that site does not correspond exactly to either the donor antibody or the consensus framework. In a preferred embodiment, such mutations, however, will not be extensive. Usually, at least 80%, preferably at least 85%, more preferably at least 90%, and most preferably at least 95% of the humanized antibody residues will correspond to those of the parental FR and CDR sequences. As used herein, the term “consensus framework” refers to the framework region in the consensus immunoglobulin sequence. As used herein, the term “consensus immunoglobulin sequence” refers to the sequence formed from the most frequently occurring amino acids (or nucleotides) in a family of related immunoglobulin sequences (See e.g., Winnaker, From Genes to Clones, Verlagsgesellschaft, Weinheim, Germany 1987). In a family of immunoglobulins, each position in the consensus sequence is occupied by the amino acid occurring most frequently at that position in the family. Where two amino acids occur equally frequently, either can be included in the consensus sequence.

As used herein, “Vernier” zone refers to a subset of framework residues that may adjust CDR structure and fine-tune the fit to antigen as described by Foote and Winter (1992, J. Mol. Biol. 224:487-499, which is incorporated herein by reference). Vernier zone residues form a layer underlying the CDRs and may impact on the structure of CDRs and the affinity of the antibody.

The term “epitope” includes any polypeptide determinant capable of specific binding to an immunoglobulin. In certain embodiments, epitope determinants include chemically active surface groupings of molecules such as amino acids, sugar side chains, phosphoryl, or sulfonyl, and, in certain embodiments, may have specific three dimensional structural characteristics, and/or specific charge characteristics. An epitope is a region of an antigen that is bound by an antibody. In certain embodiments, an antibody is said to specifically bind an antigen when it preferentially recognizes its target antigen in a complex mixture of proteins and/or macromolecules.

The term “polynucleotide” as referred to herein means a polymeric form of two or more nucleotides, either ribonucleotides or deoxynucleotides or a modified form of either type of nucleotide. The term includes single and double stranded forms of DNA but preferably is double-stranded DNA.

The term “isolated polynucleotide” as used herein shall mean a polynucleotide (e.g., of genomic, cDNA, or synthetic origin, or any combination thereof) that, by virtue of its origin, the “isolated polynucleotide” is not associated with all or a portion of a polynucleotide with which the “isolated polynucleotide” is found in nature; is operably linked to a polynucleotide that it is not linked to in nature; or does not occur in nature as part of a larger sequence.

The term “vector”, as used herein, is intended to refer to a nucleic acid molecule capable of transporting another nucleic acid to which it has been linked. One type of vector is a “plasmid”, which refers to a circular double stranded DNA into which additional DNA segments may be ligated. Another type of vector is a viral vector, wherein additional DNA segments may be ligated into the viral genome. Certain vectors are capable of autonomous replication in a host cell into which they are introduced (e.g., bacterial vectors having a bacterial origin of replication and episomal mammalian vectors). Other vectors (e.g., non-episomal mammalian vectors) can be integrated into the genome of a host cell upon introduction into the host cell, and thereby are replicated along with the host genome. Moreover, certain vectors are capable of directing the expression of genes to which they are operatively linked. Such vectors are referred to herein as “recombinant expression vectors” (or simply, “expression vectors”). In general, expression vectors of utility in recombinant DNA techniques are often in the form of plasmids. In the present specification, “plasmid” and “vector” may be used interchangeably as the plasmid is the most commonly used form of vector. However, the invention is intended to include such other forms of expression vectors, such as viral vectors (e.g., replication defective retroviruses, adenoviruses and adeno-associated viruses), which serve equivalent functions.

The term “operably linked” refers to a juxtaposition wherein the components described are in a relationship permitting them to function in their intended manner. A control sequence “operably linked” to a coding sequence is connected in such a way that expression of the coding sequence is achieved under conditions compatible with the control sequences. “Operably linked” sequences include both expression control sequences that are contiguous with the gene of interest and expression control sequences that act in trans or at a distance to control the gene of interest. The term “expression control sequence” as used herein refers to polynucleotide sequences which are necessary to effect the expression and processing of coding sequences to which they are ligated. Expression control sequences include appropriate transcription initiation, termination, promoter and enhancer sequences; efficient RNA processing signals such as splicing and polyadenylation signals; sequences that stabilize cytoplasmic mRNA; sequences that enhance translation efficiency (i.e., Kozak consensus sequence); sequences that enhance protein stability; and when desired, sequences that enhance protein secretion. The nature of such control sequences differs depending upon the host organism; in prokaryotes, such control sequences generally include promoter, ribosomal binding site, and transcription termination sequence; in eukaryotes, generally, such control sequences include promoters and transcription termination sequence. The term “control sequences” is intended to include components whose presence is essential for expression and processing, and can also include additional components whose presence is advantageous, for example, leader sequences and fusion partner sequences.

“Transformation”, as defined herein, refers to any process by which exogenous DNA enters a host cell. Transformation may occur under natural or artificial conditions using various methods well known in the art. Transformation may rely on any known method for the insertion of foreign nucleic acid sequences into a prokaryotic or eukaryotic host cell. The method is selected based on the host cell being transformed and may include, but is not limited to, viral infection, electroporation, lipofection, and particle bombardment. Such “transformed” cells include stably transformed cells in which the inserted DNA is capable of replication either as an autonomously replicating plasmid or as part of the host chromosome. They also include cells which transiently express the inserted DNA or RNA for limited periods of time.

The term “recombinant host cell” (or simply “host cell”), as used herein, is intended to refer to a cell into which exogenous DNA has been introduced. It should be understood that such terms are intended to refer not only to the particular subject cell, but, also to the progeny of such a cell. Because certain modifications may occur in succeeding generations due to either mutation or environmental influences, such progeny may not, in fact, be identical to the parent cell, but are still included within the scope of the term “host cell” as used herein. Preferably host cells include prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells selected from any of the kingdoms of life. Preferred eukaryotic cells include protist, fungal, plant and animal cells. Most preferably host cells include but are not limited to the prokaryotic cell line E. coli; mammalian cell lines CHO, HEK 293 and COS; the insect cell line Sf9; and the fungal cell Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Standard techniques may be used for recombinant DNA, oligonucleotide synthesis, and tissue culture and transformation (e.g., electroporation, lipofection). Enzymatic reactions and purification techniques may be performed according to manufacturer's specifications or as commonly accomplished in the art or as described herein. The foregoing techniques and procedures may be generally performed according to conventional methods well known in the art and as described in various general and more specific references that are cited and discussed throughout the present specification. See e.g., Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (2d ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. (1989)), which is incorporated herein by reference for any purpose.

“Transgenic organism”, as known in the art and as used herein, refers to an organism having cells that contain a transgene, wherein the transgene introduced into the organism (or an ancestor of the organism) expresses a polypeptide not naturally expressed in the organism. A “transgene” is a DNA construct which is stably and operably integrated into the genome of a cell from which a transgenic organism develops, directing the expression of an encoded gene product in one or more cell types or tissues of the transgenic organism.

Methods of producing antibodies of the invention are described below. A distinction is made here between in-vivo approaches, in-vitro approaches or a combination of both.

In-Vivo Approaches:

Depending on the type of the desired antibody, various host animals may be used for in-vivo immunization. A host expressing itself an endogenous version of the antigen of interest may be used. Alternatively, it is possible to use a host which has been made deficient in an endogenous version of the antigen of interest. For example, mice which had been made deficient in a particular endogenous protein via homologous recombination at the corresponding endogenous gene (i.e., knockout mice) have been shown to generate a humoral response to the protein with which they have been immunized and therefore to be able to be used for production of high-affinity monoclonal antibodies to the protein (see, for example, Roes, J. et al. (1995) J. Immunol. Methods 183:231-237; Lunn, M. P. et al. (2000) J. Neurochem. 75:404-412).

A multiplicity of nonhuman mammals are suitable hosts for antibody production in order to produce nonhuman antibodies of the invention. They include, for example, mice, rats, chickens, camelids, rabbits, sheep and goats (and knockout versions thereof), although preference is given to mice for the production of hybridoma. Furthermore, a nonhuman host animal expressing a human antibody repertoire may be used for producing essentially human antibodies to a human antigen with dual specificity. Nonhuman animals of this kind include transgenic animals (e.g., mice) bearing human immunoglobulin transgenes (chimeric hu-PBMC SCID mice) and human/mouse irradiation chimeras which are described in more detail below.

According to one embodiment, the animal immunized is a nonhuman mammal, preferably a mouse, which is transgenic due to human immunoglobulin genes so that said nonhuman mammal makes human antibodies upon antigenic stimulation. Typically, immunoglobulin transgenes for heavy and light chains with human germ line configuration are introduced into such animals which have been altered such that their endogenous heavy and light chain loci are inactive. If such animals are stimulated with antigen (e.g., with a human antigen), antibodies derived from the human immunoglobulin sequences (human antibodies) are produced. It is possible to make from the lymphocytes of such animals human monoclonal antibodies by means of standardized hybridoma technology. For a further description of transgenic mice with human immunoglobulins and their use in the production of human antibodies, see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,598, WO 96/33735, WO 96/34096, WO 98/24893 and WO 99/53049 (Abgenix Inc.), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,806, U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,825, U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,126, U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,425, U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,016, U.S. Pat. No. 5,770,429, U.S. Pat. No. 5,814,318, U.S. Pat. No. 5,877,397 and WO 99/45962 (Genpharm Inc.); see also MacQuitty, J. J. and Kay, R. M. (1992) Science 257:1188; Taylor, L. D. et al. (1992) Nucleic Acids Res. 20:6287-6295; Lonberg, N. et al. (1994) Nature 368:856-859; Lonberg, N. and Huszar, D. (1995) Int. Rev. Immunol. 13:65-93; Harding, F. A. and Lonberg, N. (1995) Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 764:536-546; Fishwild, D. M. et al. (1996) Nature Biotechnology 14:845-851; Mendez, M. J. et al. (1997) Nature Genetics 15:146-156; Green, L. L. and Jakobovits, A. (1998) J. Exp. Med. 188:483-495; Green, L. L. (1999) J. Immunol. Methods 231:11-23; Yang, X. D. et al. (1999) J. Leukoc. Biol. 66:401-410; Gallo, M. L. et al. (2000) Eur. J. Immunol. 30:534-540.

According to another embodiment, the animal which is immunized may be a mouse with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), which has been reconstituted with human peripheral mononuclear blood cells or lymphoid cells or precursors thereof. Such mice which are referred to as chimeric hu-PBMC SCID mice produce human immunoglobulin responses upon antigenic stimulation, as has been proved. For a further description of these mice and of their use for generating antibodies, see, for example, Leader, K. A. et al. (1992) Immunology 76:229-234; Bombil, F. et al. (1996) Immunobiol. 195:360-375; Murphy, W. J. et al. (1996) Semin. Immunol. 8:233-241; Herz, U. et al. (1997) Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol. 113:150-152; Albert, S. E. et al. (1997) J. Immunol. 159:1393-1403; Nguyen, H. et al. (1997) Microbiol. Immunol. 41:901-907; Arai, K. et al. (1998) J. Immunol. Methods 217:79-85; Yoshinari, K. and Arai, K. (1998) Hybridoma 17:41-45; Hutchins, W. A. et al. (1999) Hybridoma 18:121-129; Murphy, W. J. et al. (1999) Clin. Immunol. 90:22-27; Smithson, S. L. et al. (1999) Mol. Immunol. 36:113-124; Chamat, S. et al. (1999) J. Infect. Diseases 180:268-277; and Heard, C. et al. (1999) Molec. Med. 5:35-45.

According to another embodiment, the animal which is immunized is a mouse which has been treated with a lethal does of total body irradiation, then protected from radiation with bone marrow cells from mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and subsequently transplanted with functional human lymphocytes. This type of chimera, referred to as the Trimera system, is used in order to produce human monoclonal antibodies by immunizing said mice with the antigen of interest and then producing monoclonal antibodies by using standardized hybridoma technology. For a further description of these mice and of their use for generating antibodies, see, for example, Eren, R. et al. (1998) Immunology 93:154-161; Reisner, Y. and Dagan, S. (1998) Trends Biotechnol. 16:242-246; Ilan, E. et al. (1999) Hepatology 29:553-562; and Bocher, W. O. et al. (1999) Immunology 96:634-641.

Starting from the in-vivo generated antibody-producing cells, monoclonal antibodies may be produced by means of standardized techniques such as the hybridoma technique originally described by Kohler and Milstein (1975, Nature 256:495-497) (see also Brown et al. (1981) J. Immunol. 127:539-46; Brown et al. (1980) J Biol Chem 255:4980-83; Yeh et al. (1976) PNAS 76:2927-31; and Yeh et al. (1982) Int. J. Cancer 29:269-75). The technology of producing monoclonal antibody hybridomas is sufficiently known (see generally R. H. Kenneth, in Monoclonal Antibodies: A New Dimension In Biological Analyses, Plenum Publishing Corp., New York, N.Y. (1980); E. A. Lerner (1981) Yale J. Biol. Med., 54:387-402; M. L. Gefter et al. (1977) Somatic Cell Genet., 3:231-36). Briefly, an immortalized cell line (typically a myeloma) is fused with lymphocytes (typically splenocytes or lymph node cells or peripheral blood lymphocytes) of a mammal immunized with the Aβ globulomer of the invention or derivative thereof, and the culture supernatants of the resulting hybridoma cells are screened in order to identify a hybridoma which produces a monoclonal antibody of the present invention. Any of the many well known protocols for fusing lymphocytes and immortalized cell lines can be applied for this purpose (see also G. Galfre et al. (1977) Nature 266:550-52; Gefter et al. Somatic Cell Genet., cited supra; Lerner, Yale J. Biol. Med., cited supra; Kenneth, Monoclonal Antibodies, cited supra). Moreover, the skilled worker will appreciate that there are diverse variations of such methods, which are likewise useful. Typically, the immortalized cell line (e.g., a myeloma cell line) is derived from the same mammalian species as the lymphocytes. For example, murine hybridomas may be established by fusing lymphocytes from a mouse immunized with an immunogenic preparation of the invention with an immortalized mouse cell line. Preferred immortalized cell lines are mouse myeloma cell lines which are sensitive to culture medium containing hypoxanthine, aminopterine and thymidine (HAT medium). Any of a number of myeloma cell lines may be used by default as fusion partner, for example the P3-NS1/1-Ag4-1, P3-x63-Ag8.653 or Sp2/O-Ag14 myeloma lines. These myeloma cell lines are available from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), Manassas, Va. Typically, HAT-sensitive mouse myeloma cells are fused to mouse splenocytes using polyethylene glycol (PEG). Hybridoma cells resulting from the fusion are then selected using HAT medium, thereby killing unfused and unproductively fused myeloma cells (unfused splenocytes die after several days because they are not transformed). Hybridoma cells producing monoclonal antibodies of the invention are identified by screening the hybridoma culture supernatants for such antibodies, for example, by using a dot blot assay in order to select those antibodies which have the binding affinities as defined above. The monoclonal antibodies 10F4 and 3C5 all have been generated using the above-described in-vivo approach and thereof are obtainable from a hybridoma as defined herein.

Likewise, said hybridoma can be used as a source of nucleic acid encoding light and/or heavy chains in order to recombinantly produce antibodies of the present invention, as is described below in further detail.

In-Vitro Approaches:

As an alternative to producing antibodies of the invention by immunization and selection, antibodies of the invention may be identified and isolated by screening recombinant combinatorial immunoglobulin libraries to thereby isolate immunoglobulin library members which have the required binding affinity. Kits for generating and screening display libraries are commercially available (e.g. the Pharmacia Recombinant Phage Antibody System, catalog No. 27-9400-01; and the Stratagene SurfZAP® Phage Display Kit, catalog No. 240612). In many embodiments, the display library is an scFv library or an Fab library. The phage display technique for screening recombinant antibody libraries has been adequately described. Examples of methods and compounds which can be used particularly advantageously for generating and screening antibody display libraries can be found, for example, in McCafferty et al. WO 92/01047, U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,108 and EP 589 877 (describes in particular scFv display), Ladner et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,409, U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,484, U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,698, U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,500 and EP 436 597 (describes pIII fusion, for example); Dower et al. WO 91/17271, U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,908, U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,717 and EP 527 839 (describes in particular Fab display); Winter et al. International Publication WO 92/20791 and EP 368,684 (describes in particular the cloning of sequences for variable immunoglobulin domains); Griffiths et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,793 and EP 589 877 (describes in particular isolation of human antibodies to human antigens by using recombinant libraries); Garrard et al. WO 92/09690 (describes in particular phage expression techniques); Knappik et al. WO 97/08320 (describes the human recombinant antibody library HuCal); Salfeld et al. WO 97/29131, (describes production of a recombinant human antibody to a human antigen (human tumor necrosis factor alpha) and also in-vitro affinity maturation of the recombinant antibody) and Salfeld et al., U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/126,603 and the patent applications based hereupon (likewise describes production of recombinant human antibodies to human antigen (human interleukin-12), and also in-vitro affinity maturation of the recombinant antibody).

Further descriptions of screenings of recombinant antibody libraries can be found in scientific publications such as Fuchs et al. (1991) Bio/Technology 9:1370-1372; Hay et al. (1992) Hum Antibod Hybridomas 3:81-85; Huse et al. (1989) Science 246:1275-1281; Griffiths et al. (1993) EMBO J. 12:725-734; Hawkins et al. (1992) J Mol Biol 226:889-896; Clarkson et al. (1991) Nature 352:624-628; Gram et al. (1992) PNAS 89:3576-3580; Garrard et al. (1991) Bio/Technology 9:1373-1377; Hoogenboom et al. (1991) Nuc Acid Res 19:4133-4137; Barbas et al. (1991) PNAS 88:7978-7982; McCafferty et al. Nature (1990) 348:552-554; and Knappik et al. (2000) J. Mol. Biol. 296:57-86.

As an alternative to using bacteriophage display systems, recombinant antibody libraries may be expressed on the surface of yeast cells or of bacterial cells. WO 99/36569 describes methods of preparing and screening libraries expressed on the surface of yeast cells. WO 98/49286 describes in more detail methods of preparing and screening libraries expressed on the surface of bacterial cells. In all in vitro approaches, a selection process for enriching recombinant antibodies with the desired properties form an integral part of the process, which is generally referred to as “panning” and often takes the form of affinity chromatography over columns to whose matrix the target structure has been attached. Promising candidate molecules are then subjected to individual determination of their absolute and/or relative affinities, preferably by means of a standardized dot blot assay.

Once an antibody of interest of a combinatorial library has been identified and sufficiently characterized, the DNA sequences encoding the light and heavy chains of said antibody are isolated by means of standardized molecular-biological techniques, for example, by means of PCR amplification of DNA from the display package (e.g., the phage) which has been isolated during library screening. Nucleotide sequences of genes for light and heavy antibody chains, which may be used for preparing PCR primers, are known to one of ordinary skill in the art. A multiplicity of such sequences are described, for example, in Kabat, E. A., et al. (1991) Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, Fifth Edition, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH Publication No. 91-3242 and in the database of sequences of the human germ line VBASE.

An antibody or antibody moiety of the invention may be produced by recombinantly expressing the genes for light and heavy immunoglobulin chains in a host cell. In order to recombinantly express an antibody, a host cell is transfected with one or more recombinant expression vectors carrying DNA fragments encoding the light and heavy immunoglobulin chains of said antibody, thereby expressing the light and heavy chains in the host cell and secreting them preferably into the medium in which said host cells are cultured. The antibodies can be isolated from this medium. Standardized recombinant DNA methods are used in order to obtain genes for heavy and light antibody chains, to insert said genes into recombinant expression vectors and to introduce said vectors into host cells. Methods of this kind are described, for example, in Sambrook, Fritsch and Maniatis (eds.), Molecular Cloning; A Laboratory Manual, Second Edition, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., (1989), Ausubel, F. M. et al. (eds.) Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Greene Publishing Associates, (1989) and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,397 by Boss et al.

Once DNA fragments encoding VH and VL segments of the antibody of interest have been obtained, said DNA fragments may be further manipulated using standardized recombinant DNA techniques, for example, in order to convert the genes for variable regions to genes for full length antibody chains, to genes for Fab fragments or to an scFv gene. These manipulations comprise linking a VL- or VH-encoding DNA fragment operatively to another DNA fragment encoding another protein, for example a constant antibody region or a flexible linker. The term “operatively linked” is to be understood here as meaning that the two DNA fragments are linked in such a way that the amino acid sequences encoded by said two DNA fragments remain in frame. The isolated DNA encoding the VH region may be converted to a gene for a full length heavy chain by operatively linking the VH-region encoding DNA with another DNA molecule encoding heavy chain constant regions (CH1, CH2 and CH3). The sequences of human heavy chain constant region genes are well known (see, for example, Kabat, E. A., et al. (1991) Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, Fifth Edition, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH Publication No. 91-3242), and DNA fragments spanning said regions may be obtained by means of standardized PCR amplification. The heavy chain constant region may be a constant region from IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgM, IgA, IgE or IgD, with preference being given to a constant region from IgG, in particular IgG1 or IgG4. To obtain a gene for a heavy chain Fab fragment, the VH-encoding DNA may be operatively linked to another DNA molecule encoding merely the heavy chain constant region CH1. The isolated DNA encoding the VL region may be converted to a gene for a full length light chain (and a gene for an Fab light chain) by operatively linking the VL-encoding DNA to another DNA molecule encoding the light chain constant region CL. The sequences of genes of the constant region of human light chain are well known (see Kabat, E. A., et al. (1991) Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, Fifth Edition, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH Publication No. 91-3242), and DNA fragments spanning said regions may be obtained by means of standardized PCR amplification. The light chain constant region may be a constant kappa or lambda region, a constant kappa region being preferred.

In order to generate an scFv gene, the VH- and VL-encoding DNA fragments may be operatively linked to another fragment encoding a flexible linker, for example the amino acid sequence (Gly₄-Ser)₃ so that the VH and VL sequences are expressed as a continuous single-chain protein, with the VL and VH regions being linked to one another via said flexible linker (see Bird et al. (1988) Science 242:423-426; Huston et al. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:5879-5883; McCafferty et al., Nature (1990) 348:552-554).

Single domain VH and VL having the binding affinities as described above may be isolated from single domain libraries by the above-described methods. Two VH single-domain chains (with or without CH1) or two VL chains or a pair of one VH chain and one VL chain with the desired binding affinity may be useful as described herein for the antibodies of the invention.

In order to express the recombinant antibodies or antibody moieties of the invention, the DNAs encoding partial or full length light and heavy chains may be inserted into expression vectors so as to operatively link the genes to appropriate transcriptional and translational control sequences. In this context, the term “operatively linked” is to be understood to mean that an antibody gene is ligated in a vector in such a way that transcriptional and translational control sequences within the vector fulfill their intended function of regulating transcription and translation of said antibody gene. Expediently, the expression vector and the expression control sequences are chosen so as to be compatible with the expression host cell used. The gene for the antibody light chain and the gene for the antibody heavy chain may be inserted into separate vectors or both genes are inserted into the same expression vector, this being the usual case. The antibody genes are inserted into the expression vector by means of standardized methods (for example by ligation of complementary restriction cleavage sites on the antibody gene fragment and the vector, or by ligation of blunt ends, if no restriction cleavage sites are present). The expression vector may already carry sequences for antibody constant regions prior to insertion of the sequences for the light and heavy chains. For example, one approach is to convert the VH and VL sequences to full length antibody genes by inserting them into expression vectors already encoding the heavy and, respectively, light chain constant regions, thereby operatively linking the VH segment to the CH segment(s) within the vector and also operatively linking the VL segment to the CL segment within the vector.

Additionally or alternatively, the recombinant expression vector may encode a signal peptide which facilitates secretion of the antibody chain from the host cell. The gene for said antibody chain may be cloned into the vector, thereby linking the signal peptide in frame to the N terminus of the gene for the antibody chain. The signal peptide may be an immunoglobulin signal peptide or a heterologous signal peptide (i.e. a signal peptide from a non-immunoglobulin protein). In addition to the genes for the antibody chain, the expression vectors of the invention may have regulatory sequences controlling expression of the genes for the antibody chain in a host cell.

The term “regulatory sequence” is intended to include promoters, enhancers and further expression control elements (e.g. polyadenylation signals) which control transcription or translation of the genes for the antibody chain. Regulatory sequences of this kind are described, for example, in Goeddel; Gene Expression Technology: Methods in Enzymology 185, Academic Press, San Diego, Calif. (1990). The skilled worker will appreciate that the expression vector design which includes selection of regulatory sequences may depend on factors such as the choice of the host cell to be transformed, the desired strength of expression of the protein, etc. Preferred regulatory sequences for expression in mammalian host cells include viral elements resulting in strong and constitutive protein expression in mammalian cells, such as promoters and/or enhancers derived from cytomegalovirus (CMV) (such as the CMV promoter/enhancer), simian virus 40 (SV40) (such as the SV40 promoter/enhancer), adenovirus (e.g., the adenovirus major late promoter (AdMLP)) and polyoma. For a further description of viral regulatory elements and sequences thereof, see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,062 to Stinski, U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,245 to Bell et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,615 to Schaffner et al.

Apart from the genes for the antibody chain and the regulatory sequences, the recombinant expression vectors of the invention may have additional sequences such as those which regulate replication of the vector in host cells (e.g., origins of replication) and selectable marker genes. The selectable marker genes facilitate the selection of host cells into which the vector has been introduced (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,399,216, 4,634,665 and 5,179,017, all to Axel et al.). For example, it is common for the selectable marker gene to render a host cell into which the vector has been inserted resistant to cytotoxic drugs such as G418, hygromycin or methotrexate. Preferred selectable marker genes include the gene for dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) (for use in dhfr⁻ host cells with methotrexate selection/amplification) and the neo gene (for G418 selection).

For expression of the light and heavy chains, the expression vector(s) encoding said heavy and light chains is(are) transfected into a host cell by means of standardized techniques. The various forms of the term “transfection” are intended to comprise a multiplicity of techniques customarily used for introducing exogenous DNA into a prokaryotic or eukaryotic host cell, for example electroporation, calcium phosphate precipitation, DEAE-dextran transfection, and the like. Although it is theoretically possible to express the antibodies of the invention either in prokaryotic or eukaryotic host cells, preference is given to expressing the antibodies in eukaryotic cells and, in particular, in mammalian host cells, since the probability of a correctly folded and immunologically active antibody being assembled and secreted is higher in such eukaryotic cells and in particular mammalian cells than in prokaryotic cells. Prokaryotic expression of antibody genes has been reported as being ineffective for production of high yields of active antibody (Boss, M. A. and Wood, C. R. (1985) Immunology Today 6:12-13).

Preferred mammalian host cells for expressing recombinant antibodies of the invention include CHO cells (including dhfr⁻ CHO cells described in Urlaub and Chasin, (1980) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77:4216-4220, which are used together with a DHFR-selectable marker, as described, for example, in R. J. Kaufman and P. A. Sharp (1982) Mol. Biol. 159:601-621), NSO myeloma cells, COS cells and SP2 cells. When introducing recombinant expression vectors encoding the antibody genes into mammalian host cells, the antibodies are produced by culturing the host cells until the antibody is expressed in said host cells or, preferably, the antibody is secreted into the culture medium in which the host cells grow. The antibodies may then be isolated from the culture medium by using standardized protein purification methods. It is likewise possible to use host cells in order to produce moieties of intact antibodies, such as Fab fragments or scFv molecules. Variations of the above-described procedure are of course included in the invention. For example, it may be desirable to transfect a host cell with DNA encoding either the light chain or the heavy chain (but not both) of an antibody of the invention. If either light or heavy chains are present which are not required for binding of the antigen of interest, then the DNA encoding either such a light or such a heavy chain or both may be removed partially or completely by means of recombinant DNA technology. Molecules expressed by such truncated DNA molecules are likewise included in the antibodies of the invention. In addition, it is possible to produce bifunctional antibodies in which a heavy chain and a light chain are an antibody of the invention and the other heavy chain and the other light chain have specificity for an antigen different from the antigen of interest, by crosslinking an antibody of the invention to a second antibody by means of standardized chemical methods.

In a preferred system for recombinant expression of an antibody of the invention or an antigen-binding moiety thereof, a recombinant expression vector encoding both the antibody heavy chain and the antibody light chain is introduced into dhfr⁻ CHO cells by means of calcium phosphate-mediated transfection. Within the recombinant expression vector, the genes for the heavy and light antibody chains are in each case operatively linked to regulatory CMV enhancer/AdMLP-promoter elements in order to effect strong transcription of said genes. The recombinant expression vector also carries a DHFR gene which can be used for selecting dhfr⁻ CHO cells transfected with the vector by using methotrexate selection/amplification. The selected transformed host cells are cultured so that the heavy and light antibody chains are expressed, and intact antibody is isolated from the culture medium. Standardized molecular-biological techniques are used in order to prepare the recombinant expression vector, to transfect the host cells, to select the transformants, to culture said host cells, and to obtain the antibody from the culture medium. Thus, the invention relates to a method of synthesizing a recombinant antibody of the invention by culturing a host cell of the invention in a suitable culture medium until a recombinant antibody of the invention has been synthesized. The method may further comprise isolating said recombinant antibody from said culture medium.

As an alternative to screening recombinant antibody libraries by phage display, other methods known to the skilled worker may be used for screening large combinatorial libraries to identify the antibodies of the invention. Basically, any expression system in which a close physical linkage between a nucleic acid and the antibody encoded thereby is established and may be used to select a suitable nucleic acid sequence by virtue of the properties of the antibody it encodes may be employed. In one type of an alternative expression system, the recombinant antibody library is expressed in the form of RNA-protein fusions, as described in WO 98/31700 to Szostak and Roberts, and in Roberts, R. W. and Szostak, J. W. (1997) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94:12297-12302. In this system, in-vitro translation of synthetic mRNAs carrying on their 3′ end puromycin, a peptidyl acceptor antibiotic, generates a covalent fusion of an mRNA and the peptide or protein encoded by it. Thus, a specific mRNA of a complex mixture of mRNAs (e.g. a combinatorial library) may be concentrated on the basis of the properties of the encoded peptide or protein (e.g. of the antibody or a moiety thereof), such as binding of said antibody or said moiety thereof to Aβ(12-42) globulomer or a derivative thereof. Nucleic acid sequences which encode antibodies or moieties thereof and which are obtained by screening of such libraries may be expressed by recombinant means in the above-described manner (e.g. in mammalian host cells) and may, in addition, be subjected to further affinity maturation by either screening in further rounds mRNA-peptide fusions, introducing mutations into the originally selected sequence(s), or using other methods of in-vitro affinity maturation of recombinant antibodies in the above-described manner.

Combinations of In-Vivo and In-Vitro Approaches

The antibodies of the invention may likewise be produced by using a combination of in-vivo and in-vitro approaches such as methods in which Aβ(12-42) globulomer or a derivative thereof is first allowed to act on an antibody repertoire in a host animal in vivo to stimulate production of Aβ(12-42) globulomer or derivative-binding antibodies and then further antibody selection and/or antibody maturation (i.e., optimization) are accomplished with the aid of one or more in-vitro techniques. According to one embodiment, a combined method of this kind may comprise firstly immunizing a nonhuman animal (e.g., a mouse, rat, rabbit, chicken, camelid, sheep or goat or a transgenic version thereof or a chimeric mouse) with said Aβ(12-42) globulomer or derivative thereof to stimulate an antibody response to the antigen and then preparing and screening a phage display antibody library by using immunoglobulin sequences of lymphocytes which have been stimulated in vivo by the action of said Aβ(12-42) globulomer or derivative. The first step of this combined procedure may be carried out in the manner described above in connection with the in-vivo approaches, while the second step of this procedure may be carried out in the manner described above in connection with the in-vitro approaches. Preferred methods of hyperimmunizing nonhuman animals with subsequent in-vitro screening of phage display libraries prepared from said stimulated lymphocytes include those described by BioSite Inc., see, for example, WO 98/47343, WO 91/17271, U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,908 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,717.

According to another embodiment, a combined method comprises firstly immunizing a nonhuman animal (e.g., a mouse, rat, rabbit, chicken, camelid, sheep, goat or a knockout and/or transgenic version thereof, or a chimeric mouse) with an Aβ(12-42) globulomer of the invention or derivative thereof to stimulate an antibody response to said Aβ(12-42) globulomer or derivative thereof and selecting the lymphocytes which produce the antibodies having the desired specificity by screening hybridomas (prepared, for example, from the immunized animals). The genes for the antibodies or single domain antibodies are isolated from the selected clones (by means of standardized cloning methods such as reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction) and subjected to in-vitro affinity maturation in order to improve thereby the binding properties of the selected antibody or the selected antibodies. The first step of this procedure may be conducted in the manner described above in connection with the in-vivo approaches, while the second step of this procedure may be conducted in the manner described above in connection with the in-vitro approaches, in particular by using methods of in-vitro affinity maturation, such as those described in WO 97/29131 and WO 00/56772.

In a further combined method, the recombinant antibodies are generated from individual isolated lymphocytes by using a procedure which is known to the skilled worker as selected lymphocyte antibody methods (SLAM) and which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,627,052, WO 92/02551 and Babcock, J. S. et al. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93:7843-7848. In this method, a nonhuman animal (e.g., a mouse, rat, rabbit, chicken, camelid, sheep, goat, or a transgenic version thereof, or a chimeric mouse) is firstly immunized in vivo with Aβ(12-42) globulomer or a derivative thereof to stimulate an immune response to said oligomer or derivative, and then individual cells secreting antibodies of interest are selected by using an antigen-specific haemolytic plaque assay. To this end, the globulomer or derivative thereof or structurally related molecules of interest may be coupled to sheep erythrocytes, using a linker such as biotin, thereby making it possible to identify individual cells secreting antibodies with suitable specificity by using the haemolytic plaque assay. Following the identification of cells secreting antibodies of interest, cDNAs for the variable regions of the light and heavy chains are obtained from the cells by reverse transcriptase PCR, and said variable regions may then be expressed in association with suitable immunoglobulin constant regions (e.g., human constant regions) in mammalian host cells such as COS or CHO cells. The host cells transfected with the amplified immunoglobulin sequences derived from in vivo-selected lymphocytes may then be subjected to further in-vitro analysis and in-vitro selection by spreading out the transfected cells, for example, in order to isolate cells expressing antibodies with the binding affinity. The amplified immunoglobulin sequences may furthermore be manipulated in vitro.

Antibodies having the required affinities defined herein can be selected by performing a dot blot essentially as described above. Briefly, the antigen is attached to a solid matrix, preferably dotted onto a nitrocellulose membrane, in serial dilutions. The immobilized antigen is then contacted with the antibody of interest followed by detection of the latter by means of an enzyme-conjugated secondary antibody and a colorimetric reaction; at defined antibody and antigen concentrations, the amount of antibody bound allows affinity determination. Thus the relative affinity of two different antibodies to one target, or of one antibody to two different targets, is here defined as the relation of the respective amounts of target-bound antibody observed with the two antibody-target combinations under otherwise identical dot blot conditions. Antibodies which bind to the same epitope as monoclonal antibody 10F4 or 3C5 can be obtained in a manner known per se.

In the same way as antibodies may be competing, described above, different target structures are herein said to be “competing” for a particular antibody if at least one of these structures is capable of specifically reducing the measurable binding of another, preferably by offering an overlapping or identical epitope, more preferably an identical epitope. Competing target entities are useful for directly selecting antibodies by virtue of their relative affinity to such target structures. Relative affinities may thus be determined directly by using a competition assay in which distinguishable forms of the competing entities, e.g., differently labelled competing structures, are contacted with the antibody of interest, and the relative affinity of the antibody to each of these entities is deduced from the relative amounts of these entities which are bound by the antibody. Such competition may be used to directly enrich for antibodies possessing a desired relative affinity to the target entity, by attaching the entity towards which greater affinity is desired to a solid matrix support and adding a suitable amount, preferably a molar excess, of the competing entity towards which smaller affinity is desired to the medium. Thus, the antibodies displaying the desired relative affinities will tend to bind to the matrix more strongly than others and may be obtained after washing out the less desirable forms, e.g., by washing out at low salt concentrations and then harvesting the bound antibody by reversibly detaching it from its target by using high salt concentrations. If desired, several rounds of enrichment may be performed. In a particular embodiment of the invention, where the genotype underlying an antibody is physically linked to this antibody, e.g., in a pool of hybridomas or antigen-displaying phages or yeast cells, the corresponding phenotype may be rescued.

In another embodiment of the invention, a modified dot blot is used where the immobilized antigen competes with a solved entity for antibody binding, so that the relative affinity of the antibody can be deduced from the percentage bound to the immobilized antigen. Antibody moieties such as Fab and F(ab′)₂ fragments may be produced from whole antibodies by using conventional techniques such as digestion with papain or pepsin. In addition, antibodies, antibody moieties and immunoadhesion molecules may be obtained by using standardized recombinant DNA techniques.

The present invention also relates to pharmaceutical agents (compositions) comprising an antibody of the invention and, optionally, a pharmaceutically suitable carrier. Pharmaceutical compositions of the invention may furthermore contain at least one additional therapeutic agent, for example one or more additional therapeutic agents for the treatment of a disease for whose relief the antibodies of the invention are useful. If, for example, the antibody of the invention binds to a globulomer of the invention, the pharmaceutical composition may furthermore contain one or more additional therapeutic agents useful for the treatment of disorders in which the activity of said globulomer is important. Pharmaceutically suitable carriers include any solvents, dispersing media, coatings, antibacterial and antifungal agents, isotonic and absorption-delaying agents, and the like, as long as they are physiologically compatible. Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers include, for example, water, saline, phosphate-buffered saline, dextrose, glycerol, ethanol and the like, and combinations thereof. In many cases, preference is given to using isotonic agents, for example sugars, polyalcohols such as mannitol or sorbitol, or sodium chloride in addition. Pharmaceutically suitable carriers may furthermore contain relatively small amounts of auxiliary substances such as wetting agents or emulsifiers, preservatives or buffers, which increase the half life or efficacy of the antibodies. The pharmaceutical compositions may be suitable for parenteral administration, for example. Here, the antibodies are prepared preferably as injectable solutions with an antibody content of 0.1-250 mg/mL. The injectable solutions may be prepared in liquid or lyophilized form, the dosage form being a flint glass or vial, an ampoule or a filled syringe. The buffer may contain L-histidine (1-50 mM, preferably 5-10 mM) and have a pH of 5.0-7.0, preferably of 6.0. Further suitable buffers include, without being limited thereto, sodium succinate, sodium citrate, sodium phosphate or potassium phosphate buffers. Sodium chloride may be used in order to adjust the tonicity of the solution to a concentration of 0-300 mM (preferably 150 mM for a liquid dosage form). Cryoprotectants, for example sucrose (e.g., 0-100, preferably 0.5-1.00) may also be included for a lyophilized dosage form. Other suitable cryoprotectants are trehalose and lactose. Fillers, for example mannitol (e.g., 1-100, preferably 2-40) may also be included for a lyophilized dosage form. Stabilizers, for example L-methionine (e.g., 51-50 mM, preferably 5-10 mM) may be used both in liquid and lyophilized dosage forms. Further suitable fillers are glycine and arginine. Surfactants, for example, polysorbate 80 (e.g., 0-0.050, preferably 0.005-0.010), may also be used. Further surfactants are polysorbate 20 and BRIJ surfactants.

The compositions of the invention may have a multiplicity of forms. These include liquid, semisolid and solid dosage forms, such as liquid solutions (e.g., injectable and infusible solutions), dispersions or suspensions, tablets, pills, powders, liposomes and suppositories. The preferred form depends on the intended type of administration and on the therapeutic application. Typically, preference is given to compositions in the form of injectable or infusible solutions, for example compositions which are similar to other antibodies for passive immunization of humans. The preferred route of administration is parenteral (e.g., intravenous, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal or intramuscular). According to a preferred embodiment, the antibody is administered by intravenous infusion or injection. According to another preferred embodiment, the antibody is administered by intramuscular or subcutaneous injection. Therapeutic compositions must typically be sterile and stable under preparation and storage conditions. The compositions may be formulated as solutions, microemulsions, dispersions, liposomes or other ordered structures suitable for high concentrations of active substance. Sterile injectable solutions may be prepared by introducing the active compound (i.e., the antibody) in the required amount into a suitable solvent, where appropriate with one or a combination of the abovementioned ingredients, as required, and then sterile-filtering said solution. Dispersions are usually prepared by introducing the active compound into a sterile vehicle containing a basic dispersion medium and, where appropriate, other required ingredients. In the case of a sterile lyophilized powder for preparing sterile injectable solutions, vacuum drying and spray drying are preferred methods of preparation, which produces a powder of the active ingredient and, where appropriate, of further desired ingredients from a previously sterile-filtered solution. The correct flowability of a solution may be maintained by using, for example, a coating such as lecithin, by maintaining, in the case of dispersions the required particle size or by using surfactants. A prolonged absorption of injectable compositions may be achieved by additionally introducing into the composition an agent which delays absorption, for example monostearate salts and gelatine.

The antibodies of the invention may be administered by a multiplicity of methods known to the skilled worker, although the preferred type of administration for many therapeutic applications is subcutaneous injection, intravenous injection or infusion. The skilled worker will appreciate that the route and/or type of administration depend on the result desired. According to particular embodiments, the active compound may be prepared with a carrier which protects the compound against rapid release, such as, for example, a formulation with sustained or controlled release, which includes implants, transdermal plasters and microencapsulated release systems. Biologically degradable biocompatible polymers such as ethylene vinyl acetate, polyanhydrides, polyglycolic acid, collagen, polyorthoesters and polylactic acid may be used. The methods of preparing such formulations are well known to the skilled worker; see, for example, Sustained and Controlled Release Drug Delivery Systems, J. R. Robinson, ed., Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1978.

According to particular embodiments, an antibody of the invention may be administered orally, for example, in an inert diluent or a metabolizable edible carrier. The antibody (and further ingredients, if desired) may also be enclosed in a hard or soft gelatine capsule, compressed to tablets or added directly to food. For oral therapeutic administration, the antibodies may be mixed with excipients and used in the form of oral tablets, buccal tablets, capsules, elixirs, suspensions, syrups and the like. If it is intended to administer an antibody of the invention via a route other than the parenteral one, it may be necessary to choose a coating from a material which prevents its inactivation.

The present invention also relates to a method of inhibiting the activity of globulomers of the invention in an individual which suffers from a disorder in which the amyloid β protein is involved and in which in particular the activity of said globulomers of the invention is important. Said method comprises the administration of at least one antibody of the invention to the individual with the aim of inhibiting the activity of the globulomer to which the antibody binds. Said individual is preferably a human being. An antibody of the invention may be administered for therapeutic purposes to a human individual. In addition, an antibody of the invention may be administered to a nonhuman mammal for veterinary purposes or within the framework of an animal model for a particular disorder. Such animal models may be useful for evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of antibodies of the invention (for example for testing dosages and time courses of administration).

Disorders in which the globulomers of the invention play a part include, in particular, disorders in whose development and/or progression a globulomer of the invention is involved. These are in particular those disorders in which globulomers of the invention are evidently or presumably responsible for the pathophysiology of said disorder or are a factor which contributes to the development and/or progression of said disorder. Accordingly, those disorders are included here in which inhibition of the activity of globulomers of the invention can relieve symptoms and/or progression of the disorder. Such disorders can be verified, for example, by an increased concentration of globulomers of the invention in a biological fluid of an individual suffering from a particular disorder (e.g., increased concentration in serum, plasma, CSF, urine, etc.). This may be detected, for example, by using an antibody of the invention. The globulomers of the invention play an important part in the pathology associated with a multiplicity of disorders in which neurodegenerative elements, cognitive deficiencies, neurotoxic elements and inflammatory elements are involved.

In another aspect of the invention, disorders that can be treated or prevented include those associated with amyloidoses. The term “amyloidoses” herein denotes a number of disorders characterized by abnormal folding, clumping, aggregation and/or accumulation of particular proteins (amyloids, fibrous proteins and their precursors) in various tissues of the body. In Alzheimer's disease and Down's syndrome, nerve tissue is affected, and in cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) blood vessels are affected.

The pharmaceutical compositions of the invention may include a “therapeutically effective amount” or a “prophylactically effective amount” of an antibody or antibody moiety of the invention. A “therapeutically effective amount” refers to an amount effective, at dosages and for periods of time necessary, to achieve the desired therapeutic result. A therapeutically effective amount of the antibody or antibody moiety may be determined by a person skilled in the art and may vary according to factors such as the disease state, age, sex, and weight of the individual, and the ability of the antibody or antibody moiety to elicit a desired response in the individual. A therapeutically effective amount is also one in which any toxic or detrimental effects of the antibody or antibody portion are outweighed by the therapeutically beneficial effects. A “prophylactically effective amount” refers to an amount effective, at dosages and for periods of time necessary, to achieve the desired prophylactic result. Typically, since a prophylactic dose is used in subjects prior to or at an earlier stage of disease, the prophylactically effective amount will be less than the therapeutically effective amount.

Moreover, the present invention includes a further method of preventing or treating Alzheimer's disease in a patient in need of such prevention or treatment. This method comprises the step of administering the vaccine noted above to the patient in an amount sufficient to effect the prevention or treatment.

Further, the present invention encompasses a method of identifying compounds suitable for active immunization of a patient predicted to develop an amyloidosis, e.g. Alzheimer's disease. This method comprises: 1) exposing one or more compounds of interest to one or more of the antibodies described above for a time and under conditions sufficient for the one or more compounds to bind to the antibody or antibodies; 2) identifying those compounds which bind to the antibody or antibodies, the identified compounds to be used in active immunization in a patient predicated to develop an amyloidosis, e.g., Alzheimer's disease.

Within the framework of diagnostic usage of the antibodies, qualitative or quantitative specific globulomer determination serves in particular to diagnose disease-relevant amyloid β forms. In this context, specificity means the possibility of being able to detect a particular globulomer or a derivative thereof, or a mixture thereof with sufficient sensitivity. The antibodies of the invention advantageously have detection threshold concentrations of less than 10 ng/mL of sample, preferably of less than 1 ng/mL of sample and particularly preferably of less than 100 pg/mL of sample, meaning that at least the concentration of globulomer per mL of sample, indicated in each case, advantageously also lower concentrations, can be detected by the antibodies of the invention. The detection is carried out immunologically. This may be carried out, in principle, by using any analytical or diagnostic assay method in which antibodies are used, including agglutination and precipitation techniques, immunoassays, immunohistochemical methods and immunoblot techniques, for example Western blotting or, preferably, dot blot methods. In vivo methods, for example imaging methods, are also included here.

The use in immunoassays is advantageous. Competitive immunoassays, i.e., assays where antigen and labelled antigen (tracer) compete for antibody binding, and sandwich immunoassays, i.e., assays where binding of specific antibodies to the antigen is detected by a second, usually labelled antibody, are both suitable. These assays may be either homogeneous, i.e., without separation into solid and liquid phases, or heterogeneous, i.e., bound labels are separated from unbound ones, for example, via solid phase-bound antibodies. Depending on labelling and method of measurement, the various heterogeneous and homogeneous immunoassay formats can be classified into particular classes, for example RIAs (radioimmunoassays), ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), FIA (fluorescence immunoassay), LIA (luminescence immunoassay), TRFIA (time-resolved FIA), IMAC (immunoactivation), EMIT (enzyme-multiplied immune test), TIA (turbidometric immunoassay), I-PCR (immuno-PCR).

For the globulomer quantification of the invention, preference is given to competitive immunoassays in which a defined amount of labelled globulomer derivative serving as tracer competes with the globulomer of the sample (containing an unknown amount of unlabelled globulomers) to be quantified for binding to the antibody used. The amount of antigen, i.e., the amount of globulomer, in the sample can be determined from the amount of the displaced tracer with the aid of a standard curve.

Of the labels available for these purposes, enzymes have proved advantageous. Systems based on peroxidases, in particular, horseradish peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase and β-D-galactosidase, may be used, for example. Specific substrates whose conversion can be monitored photometrically, for example, are available for these enzymes. Suitable substrate systems are based on p-nitrophenyl phosphate (p-NPP), 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate/nitroblue tetrazolium (BCIP/NPT), Fast-Red/naphthol-AS-TS phosphate for alkaline phosphatase; 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), o-phenylenediamine (OPT), 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB), o-dianisidine, 5-aminosalicylic acid, 3-dimethylaminobenzoic acid (DMAB) and 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinehydrazone (MBTH) for peroxidases; o-nitrophenyl-β-D-galactoside (o-NPG), p-nitrophenyl-β-D-galactoside and 4-methylumbelliphenyl-β-D-galactoside (MUG) for β-D-galactosidase. In many cases, these substrate systems are commercially available in a ready-to-use form, for example in the form of tablets which may also contain further reagents such as appropriate buffers and the like. The tracers used may be labelled globulomers. In this sense, a particular globulomer can be determined by labelling the globulomer to be determined and using it as tracer. The coupling of labels to globulomers for preparing tracers may be carried out in a manner known per se. The comments above on derivatization of globulomers of the invention are referred to by analogy. In addition, a number of labels appropriately modified for conjugation to proteins are available, for example biotin-, avidin-, extravidin- or streptavidin-conjugated enzymes, maleimide-activated enzymes and the like. These labels may be reacted directly with the oligomer or, if required, with the appropriately derivatized globulomer to give the tracer. If, for example, a streptavidin-peroxidase conjugate is used, then this firstly requires biotinylation of the globulomer. This applies correspondingly to the reverse order. Suitable methods to this end are also known to the skilled worker.

If a heterogeneous immunoassay format is chosen, the antigen-antibody complex may be separated by binding it to the support, for example via an anti-idiotypical antibody coupled to said support, e.g. an antibody directed against rabbit IgG. Appropriate supports, in particular microtiter plates coated with appropriate antibodies, are known and partly commercially available.

The present invention further relates to immunoassay sets having at least one antibody as described above and further components. Said sets are, usually in the form of a packaging unit, a combination of means for carrying out a globulomer determination of the invention. For the purpose of as easy handling as possible, said means are preferably provided in an essentially ready-to-use form. An advantageous arrangement offers the immunoassay in the form of a kit. A kit usually comprises multiple containers for separate arrangement of components. All components may be provided in a ready-to-use dilution, as a concentrate for diluting or as a dry substance or lyophilisate for dissolving or suspending; individual or all components may be frozen or stored at room temperature until use. Sera are preferably shock-frozen, for example at −20° C. so that in these cases an immunoassay has to be kept preferably at temperatures below freezing prior to use. Further components supplied with the immunoassay depend on the type of said immunoassay. Usually, standard protein, tracer which may or may not be required and control serum are supplied together with the antiserum. Furthermore, microtiter plates, preferably antibody-coated, buffers, for example, for testing, for washing or for conversion of the substrate, and the enzyme substrate itself may also be included.

General principles of immunoassays and generation and use of antibodies as auxiliaries in laboratory and hospital can be found, for example, in Antibodies, A Laboratory Manual (Harlow, E., and Lane, D., Ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1988).

The present invention also includes a method of diagnosing an amyloidosis, e.g., Alzheimer's disease, in a patient suspected of having this disease. This method comprises the steps of: 1) isolating a biological sample from the patient; 2) contacting the biological sample with at least one of the antibodies described above for a time and under conditions sufficient for formation of antigen/antibody complexes; and 3) detecting presence of the antigen/antibody complexes in said sample, presence of the complexes indicating a diagnosis of an amyloidosis, e.g., Alzheimer's disease, in the patient. The antigen may be, for example, an globulomer or a portion or fragment thereof which has the same functional properties as the full globulomer (e.g., binding activity).

Further, the present invention includes another method of diagnosing an amyloidosis, e.g., Alzheimer's disease in a patient suspected of having this disease. This method comprising the steps of: 1) isolating a biological sample from the patient; 2) contacting the biological sample with an antigen for a time and under conditions sufficient for the formation of antibody/antigen complexes; 3) adding a conjugate to the resulting antibody/antigen complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the conjugate to bind to the bound antibody, wherein the conjugate comprises one of the antibodies described above, attached to a signal generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal; and 4) detecting the presence of an antibody which may be present in the biological sample, by detecting a signal generated by the signal generating compound, the signal indicating a diagnosis of an amyloidosis, e.g., Alzheimer's disease in the patient. The antigen may be a globulomer or a portion or fragment thereof having the same functional properties as the full globulomer (e.g., binding activity).

The present invention includes an additional method of diagnosing an amyloidosis, e.g., Alzheimer's disease, in a patient suspected of having an amyloidosis, e.g., Alzheimer's disease. This method comprises the steps of: 1) isolating a biological sample from said patient; 2) contacting the biological sample with anti-antibody, wherein the anti-antibody is specific for one of the antibodies described above, for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow for formation of anti-antibody/antibody complexes, the complexes containing antibody present in the biological sample; 2) adding a conjugate to resulting anti-antibody/antibody complexes for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the conjugate to bind to bound antibody, wherein the conjugate comprises an antigen, which binds to a signal generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal; and 3) detecting a signal generated by the signal generating compound, the signal indicating a diagnosis of an amyloidosis, e.g., Alzheimer's disease, in the patient.

Also, the present invention includes a kit comprising: a) at least one of the antibodies described above and b) a conjugate comprising an antibody attached to a signal-generating compound, wherein the antibody of the conjugate is different from the isolated antibody.

The present invention also encompasses a kit comprising: a) an anti-antibody to one of the antibodies described above and b) a conjugate comprising an antigen attached to a signal-generating compound. The antigen may be a globulomer or a fragment or portion thereof having the same functional characteristics as the globulomer (e.g., binding activity).

In one diagnostic embodiment of the present invention, an antibody of the present invention, or a portion thereof, is coated on a solid phase (or is present in a liquid phase). The test or biological sample (e.g., whole blood, cerebrospinal fluid, serum, etc.) is then contacted with the solid phase. If antigen (e.g., globulomer) is present in the sample, such antigens bind to the antibodies on the solid phase and are then detected by either a direct or indirect method. The direct method comprises simply detecting presence of the complex itself and thus presence of the antigens. In the indirect method, a conjugate is added to the bound antigen. The conjugate comprises a second antibody, which binds to the bound antigen, attached to a signal-generating compound or label. Should the second antibody bind to the bound antigen, the signal-generating compound generates a measurable signal. Such signal then indicates presence of the antigen in the test sample. Examples of solid phases used in diagnostic immunoassays are porous and non-porous materials, latex particles, magnetic particles, microparticles (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,705,330), beads, membranes, microtiter wells and plastic tubes. The choice of solid phase material and method of labeling the antigen or antibody present in the conjugate, if desired, are determined based upon desired assay format performance characteristics.

As noted above, the conjugate (or indicator reagent) will comprise an antibody (or perhaps anti-antibody, depending upon the assay), attached to a signal-generating compound or label. This signal-generating compound or “label” is itself detectable or may be reacted with one or more additional compounds to generate a detectable product. Examples of signal-generating compounds include chromogens, radioisotopes (e.g., 125I, 131I, 32P, 3H, 35S and 14C), chemiluminescent compounds (e.g., acridinium), particles (visible or fluorescent), nucleic acids, complexing agents, or catalysts such as enzymes (e.g., alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, horseradish peroxidase, beta-galactosidase and ribonuclease). In the case of enzyme use (e.g., alkaline phosphatase or horseradish peroxidase), addition of a chromo-, fluoro-, or lumo-genic substrate results in generation of a detectable signal. Other detection systems such as time-resolved fluorescence, internal-reflection fluorescence, amplification (e.g., polymerase chain reaction) and Raman spectroscopy are also useful. Examples of biological fluids which may be tested by the above immunoassays include plasma, whole blood, dried whole blood, serum, cerebrospinal fluid or aqueous or organo-aqueous extracts of tissues and cells.

The present invention also encompasses a method for detecting the presence of antibodies in a test sample. This method comprises the steps of: (a) contacting the test sample suspected of containing antibodies with anti-antibody specific for the antibodies in the patient sample under time and conditions sufficient to allow the formation of anti-antibody/antibody complexes, wherein the anti-antibody is an antibody of the present invention which binds to an antibody in the patient sample; (b) adding a conjugate to the resulting anti-antibody/antibody complexes, the conjugate comprising an antigen (which binds to the anti-antibody) attached to a signal generating compound capable of detecting a detectable signal; and (d) detecting the presence of the antibodies which may be present in the test sample by detecting the signal generated by the signal generating compound. A control or calibrator may be used which comprises antibody to the anti-antibody.

Kits are also included within the scope of the present invention. More specifically, the present invention includes kits for determining the presence of antigens (e.g., globulomers) in a patient suspected of having Alzheimer's disease or another condition characterized by cognitive impairment. In particular, a kit for determining the presence of antigens in a test sample comprises a) an antibody as defined herein or moiety thereof; and b) a conjugate comprising a second antibody (having specificity for the antigen) attached to a signal generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal. The kit may also contain a control or calibrator which comprises a reagent which binds to the antigen as well as a package insert describing the procedure to be used when conducting the assay.

The present invention also includes a kit for detecting antibodies in a test sample. The kit may comprise a) an anti-antibody specific (for example, one of the subject invention) for the antibody of interest, and b) an antigen or portion thereof as defined above. A control or calibrator comprising a reagent which binds to the antigen may also be included. More specifically, the kit may comprise a) an anti-antibody (such as the one of the present invention) specific for the antibody and b) a conjugate comprising an antigen (e.g., globulomer) attached to a signal generating compound capable of generating a detectable signal. Again, the kit may also comprise a control of calibrator comprising a reagent which binds to the antigen as well as a package insert describing the components of the kits and how they are to be utilized.

The kit may also comprise one container such as vial, bottles or strip, with each container with a pre-set solid phase, and other containers containing the respective conjugates. These kits may also contain vials or containers of other reagents needed for performing the assay, such as washing, processing and indicator reagents.

It should also be noted that the subject invention not only includes the full length antibodies described above but also moities or fragments thereof, for example, the Fab portion thereof. Additionally, the subject invention encompasses any antibody having the same properties of the present antibodies in terms of, for example, binding specificity, structure, etc.

Advantages of the Invention

By immunization with Aβ(12-42) globulomer (as described in Example I), different monoclonal antibodies may be obtained which differ in their tolerance or recognition of different Aβ(1-42) oligomers and Aβ(X-42) oligomers, as determined by comparative dot blotting as described above. This allows development of an antibody directed to Aβ oligomers which possesses an optimal relation between cognition enhancing effect, desired specificity over other Aβ forms and minimal side effect profile. The same holds true for monoclonal antibodies for use in passive immunization. The advantage of such a specific strategy for immunization (active and passive) is that it will not induce an immune response against Aβ monomers, Aβ peptides in fibrillary states of aggregation or sAPPα. This is advantageous in several ways:

-   -   1) In the form of insoluble Aβ plaques, Aβ peptides in         fibrillary states of aggregation amount to the major part of the         entire Aβ peptide pool in AD brains. A massive release of Aβ by         dissolution of Aβ plaques induced by reaction of anti-Aβ         antibodies with these plaques is to be regarded as detrimental.         This massive release of Aβ would then cross the blood-brain         barrier, enter the bloodstream and potentially increase the risk         of microhaemorrhages. In addition, in the ELAN trial mentioned         above, this very strategy of immunization with fibrillary Aβ         peptide forms required cancellation of the trial due to 60 of         cases with an onset of meningoencephalitis.     -   2) Immune responses directed to monomeric Aβ peptide forms are         undesirable, as it could be shown that the latter may exert         cognition-enhancing effects.     -   3) Immune responses directed to sAPPα are likewise undesirable,         as this might lead to a reaction with the physiologically         occurring precursor protein APP and thus to an autoimmune         reaction. Moreover, sAPPα was also shown to exert         cognition-enhancing effects.

4) A response directed to vascular Aβ peptide in the form of CAA is to be avoided in order to eschew the undesirable side effect of microhaemorrhages (i.e., antibodies against the central portion of Aβ and which in addition do not bind to Aβ-peptides aggregated in the form of CAA induce fewer microhaemorrhages when compared to such against the N-terminus, see above).

-   -   5) Antibodies which specifically react with Aβ oligomers will         have higher bioavailability with regard to the         pathophysiologically relevant Aβ species, as they will not be         bound to, e.g., fibrillary or monomeric Aβ and thus made         unavailable for therapeutic effect.         Again, it should be noted that the antibodies of the present         invention and, in particular, 10F4 and 3C5, do not (or with a         lower binding affinity compared to commercially available         antibodies like 6E10 (Signet Cat. no.: 9320)) detect amyloid         beta in the cerebrospinal fluid. Thus, due to the high turnover         rates of amyloid beta in the CSF, this lack of binding by the         antibodies to the amyloid beta in the CSF prevents the waste of         antibodies, as well as creates a more efficacious and selective         system in comparison to those antibodies which bind to all         amyloid beta found in the body (e.g., brain and CSF). Further,         this property of the antibodies of the present invention allows         one to reduce the amount of antibody to be administered (in         connection with passive immunization), reduces the risk of side         effects since the dose is lower thereby restricting antibodies         to the target, increases efficacy, and also increases the         therapeutic index. Furthermore, the risk of microhemmorhages is         also reduced. Additionally, since the antibodies do not detect         fibrillar forms of amyloid beta, the risks associated with such         complex formation are also reduced.         Deposit Information

The hybridoma (ML45-3C5.5C10) which produces monoclonal antibody 3C5 was deposited with the American Type Culture Collection, 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, Va. 20110 on Feb. 28, 2006 under the terms of the Budapest Treaty and was assigned ATCC No. PTA-7406. Hybridoma (ML43-10F4.3H8) which produces monoclonal antibody 10F4 was deposited with the American Type Culture Collection, 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, Va. 20110 on Aug. 16, 2006 under the terms of the Budapest Treaty and was assigned ATCC No. PTA-7808.

The present invention may be illustrated by use of the following non-limiting examples:

Example I Preparation of Aβ(12-42) Globulomer for Immunization

The Aβ(12-42) synthetic peptide (AnaSpec Inc.; Lot #40443) was suspended in 1000 (v/v) 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP) at 40 mg/mL (5 mg in 125 μL HFIP) and incubated for complete solubilization under shaking at 37° C. for 1 h. The HFIP acts as a hydrogen-bond breaker and is used to eliminate pre-existing structural inhomogeneities in the Aβ peptide. After centrifugation at 10000 g for 10 min the supernatant of the HFIP-dissolved Aβ(12-42) was diluted with 6.1 mL phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4) and 625 μL 2% (w/v) sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) (in H₂O) were added (final concentration of 0.2% (w/v) SDS) and incubated for 3 h at 37° C. Once more, 625 μL 2% (w/v) sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) (in H₂O) were added (final concentration of 0.4% (w/v) SDS) and further incubated for 3 h at 37° C. The solution was diluted with 7 mL H₂O and incubated for 16 h at 37° C. After centrifugation at 3000 g for 10 min the supernatant was further diluted with 15 mL PBS (20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4) and concentrated by ultrafiltration (5 kDa cut-off) to 0.65 mL, dialysed against 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, 0.05% (w/v) SDS, pH 7.4 for 16 h at room temperature, centrifuged at 10000 g for 10 min and the supernatant comprising the Aβ(12-42) globulomer withdrawn. The samples were aliquoted and stored at −80° C. until further use.

Example II Production of Monoclonal Antibodies 3C5 and 10F4

Balb/c mice were immunized sub-cutaneous with 50 μg of Aβ (12-42) globulomer as described in Example I in CFA (Sigma) and boosted twice at one month intervals. Spleens were collected and spleen cells fused with mouse myeloma SP2/0 cells at 5:1 ratio by a PEG procedure. Fusion cells were plated in 96-well dishes in Azaserine/Hypoxanthine selection media at 2×10⁵ cells/mL, 200 mL per well. Cells were allowed to grow to form visible colonies and supernatants assayed for Aβ oligomer reactivity by a direct ELISA assay. Hybridomas secreting antibodies to Aβ oligomers were subcloned by limiting dilution, until antibody expression appeared stable.

Example III Dot-Blot Profile of the Selectivity of the Anti-Aβ Globulomer Antibodies

In order to characterize the selectivity of the monoclonal anti-Aβ globulomer antibodies, they were probed for recognition with different Aβ-forms. To this end, serial dilutions of the individual Aβ forms ranging from 100 pmol/μL to 0.01 pmol/μL in PBS supplemented with 0.2 mg/mL BSA were made. 1 μL of each sample was blotted onto a nitrocellulose membrane. For detection, the corresponding antibody was used (0.2 μg/mL). Immunostaining was done using peroxidase conjugated anti-mouse-IgG and the staining reagent BM Blue POD Substrate (Roche).

Aβ-Standards for Dot-Blot:

1. Aβ(1-42) monomer, 0.1% NH₄OH

-   -   1 mg Aβ(1-42) (Bachem Inc., Cat. no.: H-1368) were dissolved in         0.5 mL 0.1% NH₄OH in H₂O (freshly prepared) (=2 mg/mL) and         immediately shaken for 30 sec at room temperature to obtain a         clear solution. The sample was stored at −20° C. for further         use.

2. Aβ(1-40) Monomer, 0.1% NH₄OH

-   -   1 mg Aβ(1-40) (Bachem Inc., cat. no. H-1368) were dissolved in         0.5 mL 0.1% NH₄OH in H₂O (freshly prepared) (=2 mg/mL) and         immediately shaken for 30 sec. at room temperature to obtain a         clear solution. The sample was stored at −20° C. for further         use.

3. Aβ(1-42) monomer, 0.1% NaOH

-   -   2.5 mg Aβ(1-42) (Bachem Inc., cat. no. H-1368) were dissolved in         0.5 mL 0.1% NaOH in H₂O (freshly prepared) (=5 mg/mL) and         immediately shaken for 30 sec. at room temperature to obtain a         clear solution. The sample was stored at −20° C. for further         use.

4. Aβ(1-40) monomer, 0.1% NaOH

-   -   2.5 mg Aβ(1-40) (Bachem Inc., cat. no. H-1368) were dissolved in         0.5 mL 0.1% NaOH in H₂O (freshly prepared) (=5 mg/mL) and         immediately shaken for 30 sec. at room temperature to obtain a         clear solution. The sample was stored at −20° C. for further         use.

5. Aβ(1-42) Globulomer

-   -   The Aβ(1-42) synthetic peptide (H-1368, Bachem, Bubendorf,         Switzerland) was suspended in 100%         1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP) at 6 mg/mL and         incubated for complete solubilization under shaking at 37° C.         for 1.5 h. The HFIP acts as a hydrogen-bond breaker and is used         to eliminate pre-existing structural inhomogeneities in the Aβ         peptide. HFIP was removed by evaporation in a SpeedVac and         Aβ(1-42) resuspended at a concentration of 5 mM in         dimethylsulfoxide and sonicated for 20 s. The HFIP-pre-treated         Aβ(1-42) was diluted in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (20 mM         NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4) to 400 μM and 1/10 volume 2%         sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) (in H₂O) added (final concentration         of 0.2% SDS). An incubation for 6 h at 37° C. resulted in the         16/20-kDa Aβ(1-42) globulomer (short form for globular oligomer)         intermediate. The 38/48-kDa Aβ(1-42) globulomer was generated by         a further dilution with three volumes of H₂O and incubation for         18 h at 37° C. After centrifugation at 3000 g for 20 min the         sample was concentrated by ultrafiltration (30-kDa cut-off),         dialysed against 5 mM NaH₂PO₄, 35 mM NaCl, pH 7.4, centrifuged         at 10000 g for 10 min and the supernatant comprising the         38/48-kDa Aβ(1-42) globulomer withdrawn. As an alternative to         dialysis the 38/48-kDa Aβ(1-42) globulomer can also be         precipitated by a ninefold excess (v/v) of ice-cold         methanol/acetic acid solution (33% methanol, 4% acetic acid) for         1 h at 4° C. The 38/48-kDa Aβ(1-42) globulomer is then pelleted         (10 min at 16200 g), resuspended in 5 mM NaH₂PO₄, 35 mM NaCl, pH         7.4, and the pH adjusted to 7.4.

6. Aβ(12-42) Globulomer

-   -   2 mL of an Aβ(1-42) globulomer preparation prepared according to         Example 3.5 (see above) are admixed with 38 mL buffer (5 mM         sodium phosphate, 35 mM sodium chloride, pH 7.4) and 150 μl of a         1 mg/mL GluC endoproteinase (Roche) in H₂O. The reaction mixture         is stirred for 6 h at RT, and a further 150 μl of a 1 mg/mL GluC         endoproteinase (Roche) in H₂O are subsequently added. The         reaction mixture is stirred at RT for another 16 h, followed by         addition of 8 μL of a 5 M DIFP (Diisopropylfluorphosphate)         solution. The reaction mixture is concentrated to approx. 1 mL         via a 15 mL 30 kDa Centriprep tube. The concentrate is admixed         with 9 mL of buffer (5 mM sodium phosphate, 35 mM sodium         chloride, pH 7.4) and again concentrated to 1 mL. The         concentrate is dialyzed at 6° C. against 1 L of buffer (5 mM         sodium phosphate, 35 mM NaCl) in a dialysis tube for 16 h. The         dialysate is adjusted to an SDS content of 0.1% with a 1%         strength SDS solution in H₂O. The sample is removed by         centrifugation at 10000 g for 10 min and the supernatant is         removed.

7. Aβ(20-42) Globulomer

-   -   1.59 mL of Aβ(1-42) globulomer preparation prepared according to         Example 2.5 (see above) are admixed with 38 mL of buffer (50 mM         MES/NaOH, pH 7.4) and 200 μL of a 1 mg/mL thermolysin solution         (Roche) in H₂O. The reaction mixture is stirred at RT for 20 h.         Then 80 μl of a 100 mM EDTA solution, pH 7.4, in H₂O are added         and the mixture is furthermore adjusted to an SDS content of         0.01% with 400 μl of a 1% strength SDS solution. The reaction         mixture is concentrated to approx. 1 mL via a 15 mL 30 kDa         Centriprep tube. The concentrate is admixed with 9 mL of buffer         (50 mM MES/NaOH, 0.02% SDS, pH 7.4) and again concentrated to 1         mL. The concentrate is dialyzed at 6° C. against 1 L of buffer         (5 mM sodium phosphate, 35 mM NaCl) in a dialysis tube for 16 h.         The dialysate is adjusted to an SDS content of 0.1% with a 2%         strength SDS solution in H₂O. The sample is removed by         centrifugation at 10000 g for 10 min and the supernatant is         removed.

8. Aβ(1-42) Fibrils

-   -   1 mg Aβ(1-42) (Bachem Inc. Cat. no.: H-1368) were solved in 500         μL aqueous 0.1% NH₄OH (Eppendorff tube) and the sample was         stirred for 1 min at room temperature. 100 μL of this freshly         prepared Aβ(1-42) solution were neutralized with 300 μL 20 mM         NaH₂PO₄; 140 mM NaCl, pH7.4. The pH was adjusted to pH 7.4 with         1% HCl. The sample was incubated for 24 h at 37° C. and         centrifuged (10 min at 10000 g). The supernatant was discarded         and the fibril pellet resuspended with 400 μL 20 mM NaH₂PO₄; 140         mM NaCl, pH 7.4 by vortexing for 1 min.

9. sAPPα

-   -   Supplied by Sigma (cat.no. S9564; 25 μg in 20 mM NaH₂PO₄; 140 mM         NaCl; pH 7.4). The sAPPα was diluted to 0.1 mg/mL (=1 pmol/μL)         with 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4, 0.2 mg/mL BSA.         Materials for Dot Blot:         Aβ-Standards:     -   Serial dilution of Aβ antigens in 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH         7.4+0.2 mg/mL BSA         -   1) 100 pmol/μL         -   2) 10 pmol/μL         -   3) 1 pmol/μL         -   4) 0.1 pmol/μL         -   5) 0.01 pmol/μL             Nitrocellulose:     -   Trans-Blot Transfer medium, Pure Nitrocellulose Membrane (0.45         μm); BIO-RAD         Anti-Mouse-POD:     -   Cat. No: 715-035-150 (Jackson Immuno Research)         Detection Reagent:     -   BM Blue POD Substrate, precipitating (Roche)         Bovine Serum Albumin, (BSA):     -   Cat. No.: A-7888 (SIGMA)         Blocking Reagent:     -   5% low fat milk in TBS         Buffer Solutions:

  T B S   25  mM  Tris/HCl  buffer  pH  7.5 + 150  mM  NaCl   T T B S 25  mM  Tris/HCl − buffer  pH  7.5 + 150  mM  NaCl + 0.05%  Tween  20   P B S + 0.2  mg/mL  B S A 20  mM  NaH₂PO₄  buffer  pH  7.4 + 140  mM  NaCl + 0.2  mg/mL  B S A Antibody Solution I:

-   -   0.2 μg/mL antibody diluted in 20 mL 1% low fat milk in TBS         Antibody Solution II:     -   1:5000 dilution     -   Anti-Mouse-POD in 1% low fat milk in TBS         Dot Blot Procedure:     -   1) 1 μL each of the different Aβ-standards (in their 5 serial         dilutions) were dotted onto the nitrocellulose membrane in a         distance of approximately 1 cm from each other.     -   2) The Aβ-standards dots were allowed to dry on the         nitrocellulose membrane on air for at least 10 min at room         temperature (RT) (=dot blot).     -   3) Blocking:         -   The dot blot was incubated with 30 mL 5% low fat milk in TBS             for 1.5 h at RT.     -   4) Washing:         -   The blocking solution was discarded and the dot blot             incubated under shaking with 20 mL TTBS for 10 min at RT.     -   5) Antibody Solution I:         -   The washing buffer was discarded and the dot blot incubated             with antibody solution I for 2 h at RT.     -   6) Washing:         -   The antibody solution I was discarded and the dot blot             incubated under shaking with 20 mL TTBS for 10 min at RT.             The washing solution was discarded and the dot blot             incubated under shaking with 20 mL TTBS for 10 min at RT.             The washing solution was discarded and the dot blot             incubated under shaking with 20 mL TBS for 10 min at RT.     -   7) Antibody Solution II:         -   The washing buffer was discarded and the dot blot incubated             with antibody solution II overnight at RT.     -   8) Washing:         -   The antibody solution II was discarded and the dot blot             incubated under shaking with 20 mL TTBS for 10 min at RT.             The washing solution was discarded and the dot blot             incubated under shaking with 20 mL TTBS for 10 min at RT.             The washing solution was discarded and the dot blot             incubated under shaking with 20 mL TBS for 10 min at RT.     -   9) Development:         -   The washing solution was discarded. The dot blot was             developed with 10 mL BM Blue POD Substrate for 10 min. The             development was stopped by intense washing of the dot blot             with H₂O. Quantitative evaluation was done using a             densitometric analysis (GS800 densitometer (BioRad) and             software package Quantity one, Version 4.5.0 (BioRad)) of             the dot-intensity. Only dots were evaluated that had a             relative density of greater than 20% of the relative density             of the last optically unambiguously identified dot of the             Aβ(20-42) globulomer. This threshold value was determined             for every dot-blot independently. The calculated value             indicates the relation between recognition of Aβ(1-42)             globulomer and the respective Aβ form for the antibody             given.

The monoclonal antibodies tested were obtained (except for 6E10) by active immunization of mice with Aβ(12-42) globulomer (prepared as described in Example I), followed by selection of the fused hybridoma cells. The individual Aβ forms were applied in serial dilusions and incubated with the respective antibodies for immune reaction.

-   -   1. Aβ(1-42) monomer, 0.1% NH₄OH     -   2. Aβ(1-40) monomer, 0.1% NH₄OH     -   3. Aβ(1-42) monomer, 0.1% NaOH     -   4. Aβ(1-40) monomer, 0.1% NaOH     -   5. Aβ(1-42) globulomer     -   6. Aβ(12-42) globulomer     -   7. Aβ(20-42) globulomer     -   8. Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation     -   9. sAPPα (Sigma); (first dot: 1 pmol)

Results are shown in FIG. 1.

Based upon an analysis of the dot blot results, the anti-Aβ globulomer mAbs 10F4 and 3C5 have a high affinity for Aβ-globulomer forms such as the Aβ(1-42) globulomer, Aβ(12-42) globulomer and Aβ(20-42) globulomer). They discriminate other Aβ forms such as Aβ-monomers to a certain extent and do not significantly recognize Aβ(1-42) fibrils or sAPPα. The antibodies 10F4 and 3C5 can therefore be coined ‘anti-Aβ globulomer antibodies’.

Example IV Detection of Aβ-Globulomer Epitopes in Alzheimer's Disease Brain by 10F4 AND 3C5

A: Extraction Procedure

Reagent List:

-   -   3% SDS-buffer:         -   50 mM Tris/HCl, 150 mM NaCl, 0.5% Triton X100, 1 mM EGTA, 3%             SDS, 1% Na-desoxycholate, pH7.4     -   Complete Protease Inhibitor Cocktail:         -   dissolve 1 tablet complete inhibitor cocktail (Roche             Diagnostics GmbH; Cat. no.: 1697498) in 1 mL H₂O; freshly             prepared     -   PMSF-solution:         -   500 mM PMSF in methanol     -   3% SDS extraction-buffer:         -   add 1/100 complete inhibitor cocktail solution to the 3%             SDS-buffer         -   add 1/500 PMSF solution to the 3% SDS-buffer         -   prepare extraction buffer immediately before use at room             temperature     -   Antibodies:         -   mAb 10F4         -   mAb 3C5         -   mAb 6E10 (Signet; Cat. no.:9320)         -   mAb IgG2b (control antibody, generated against a synthetical             hapten, Dianova, clone NCG2B.01, Cat.No: DLN-05812)             Procedure:

0.2 g of −80° C. frozen post mortem human AD and aged match control brain tissue samples were added to 1.8 mL freshly prepared 3% SDS-extraction buffer at room temperature. The sample was immediately homogenized on ice by a glass potter. The homogenized sample was transferred to a reaction vial and centrifuged at 10000 g for 5 min. The supernatant (=3% SDS-brain extract) was collected carefully and stored in a reaction vial at −80° C. for further use.

B: Activation of Dynabeads with Monoclonal Mouse Antibodies

-   -   the stock-suspension of dynabeads (Dynabeads M-280 Sheep         anti-Mouse IgG, Invitrogen; Cat. no.: 112.02) was shaken         carefully to prevent foaming     -   1 mL was aseptically removed and transferred to a 1.5 mL         reaction vial     -   the dynabeads were washed 3 times 5 min with 1 mL         immunoprecipitation (IP)-wash buffer (IP-wash-buffer: PBS (20 mM         NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4), 0.1% BSA). During the washing         procedure the supernatant was carefully removed while the         dynabeads were immobilized at the side of the reaction vial with         a magnetic separator stand (MSS)     -   the washed dynabeads were incubated with 40 μg Aβ-antibody in 1         mL PBS, 0.1% BSA     -   the activation was carried out by overnight incubation under         shaking at 4° C.     -   the activated dynabeads were washed 4 times 30 min (again using         the MSS) with 1 mL IP-wash buffer (PBS (20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM         NaCl, pH 7.4), 0.1% BSA)     -   the activated dynabeads were resuspended with 1 mL PBS, 0.1%         BSA, 0.02% Na-Azide; vortexed and centrifuged briefly     -   the antibody activated dynabeads were stored at 4° C. until         further use         C: Immunoprecipitation (IP)     -   25 μL 3% SDS-brain extract were diluted with 975 μL, 20 mM         NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl; 0.05% Tween 20, pH 7.5 (=1:40 dilution).     -   25 μL, of each antibody activated dynabeads of the following         list were incubated with 1 mL of the 1:40 diluted 3% SDS-brain         extract:         -   6E10-Dynabeads         -   3C5-Dynabeads         -   10F4-Dynabeads         -   IgG2b-Dynabeads     -   the immunoprecipitation was carried out by overnight incubation         (˜20 h) under shaking at 6° C.     -   the dynabeads were immobilized with the MPS     -   the supernatant was carefully removed and discarded     -   the dynabeads were washed as follows:         -   2 times 5 minutes with 500 μL 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH             7.5+0.1% BSA         -   1 time 3 minutes with 500 μL 2 mM NaH₂PO₄, 14 mM NaCl, pH             7.5         -   important: after the last removal of the washing buffer the             reaction vials were centrifuged, placed back in the MSS and             the remaining drops of fluid carefully removed         -   10 μL 50% CH₃CN, 0.5% TFA in H₂O were added to the reaction             vial and vortexed         -   the reaction vials were incubated 10 minutes at RT under             shaking         -   the dynabeads were immobilized with the MSS         -   the supernatant comprising the immunoprecipitated eluted Aβ             species was carefully withdrawn (=IP-eluate)             D: Surface-Enhanced Laser Desorption Ionization-Mass             Spectrometry (SELDI-MS):

1 μL IP-eluate was spotted onto a H4 Protein Chip Array (Ciphergen; Cat.no. C573-0028).

-   -   the spots were allowed to dry on a warm incubator plate     -   CHCA-solution:         -   5 mg CHCA were dissolved in 150 μL acetonitrile+150 μL 1%             TFA=stock solution; stored at −20° C.         -   of the stock solution 10 μL were diluted with 20 μL             acetonitrile and 20 μL 1% TFA=working CHCA-solution         -   2 μL of the working CHCA-solution was applied onto the spots     -   the spots were allowed to dry on a warm incubator plate and         analysed by SELDI-MS (Surface-Enhanced Laser Desorption         Ionization-Mass Spectrometry)         -   conditions: laser intensity 200; sensitivity 6; mass range             800 Da-10000 Da; position 20-80; collect 5         -   analysis: the MZ area of the respective Aβ-mass peaks was             quantified             E. Western Blot Analysis of Imuunoprecipitated AD-Brain             Extract:             SDS-PAGE:     -   SDS-Sample buffer:         -   0.3 g SDS         -   4 mL 1 M Tris/HCl pH 6.8         -   8 mL glycerol         -   70 μL 1% bromphenolblue in ethanol         -   add H₂O to 50 mL     -   Running Buffer:         -   7.5 g Tris         -   36 g Glycine         -   2.5 g SDS         -   add H₂O to 2.5 L     -   SDS-PAGE Gel System:         -   18% Tris/Glycine Gel: (Invitrogen Inc., Cat. no.:             EC65055BOX)     -   5 μL IP-eluate were added to 13 μL sample buffer (300 μL         SDS-sample buffer+10 μL 1 M Tris-solution in H₂O+20 μL 85%         glycerol). The resulting 18 μL sample are loaded onto a 18%         Tris/Glycin Gel (Invitrogen Inc., Cat. no.: EC65055BOX). The         SDS-PAGE is conducted at a constant current of 20 mA.         Western Blot Procedure:     -   Subsequent to electrophoresis, the gel was blotted for 45         minutes at 75 mA onto a nitrocellulose membrane (7.5 cm×9 cm,         0.2 μm, BioRad) using a semi-dry blotting chamber (BioRad).     -   Blot-Buffer:         -   6 g Tris         -   28.1 g glycine         -   500 mL methanole         -   add H₂O to 2.5 L             Western Blot Immunostaining:             Materials:     -   Anti-Aβ antibody 6E10 (Signet; Cat.No. 9320)     -   Anti-Mouse-POD (Jackson ImmunoResearch, Cat. no.: 715-035-150)     -   Detection reagent:         -   Super Signal West Pico Substrat (Pierce, Cat. no.: 34077)     -   Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA, Serva, Cat. no.: 11926)     -   low fat milk powder (Lasana)     -   Blocking reagent:         -   2% BSA in PBST     -   TBS:         -   25 mM Tris/HCl         -   150 mM NaCl Puffer, pH 7.5     -   TTBS:         -   25 mM Tris/HCl         -   150 mM NaCl Puffer         -   0.05% Tween 20, pH 7.5     -   PBS:         -   20 mM NaH₂PO₄ buffer         -   140 mM NaCl buffer, pH 7.5     -   PBST:         -   20 mM NaH₂PO₄ buffer         -   140 mM NaCl buffer         -   0.05% Tween 20, pH 7.5     -   Antibody solution I:         -   1 μg/mL 6E10=1:1000 in 20 mL 3% low fat milk in TBS     -   Antibody solution II:         -   1:10000 diluted anti-mouse-POD in 20 mL 3% low fat milk in             TBS             Procedure:     -   1) The Western blot was boiled for 10 minutes in PBS.     -   2) Blocking:         -   The Western blot was incubated for 16 h at 6° C. with 50 mL             blocking reagent.     -   3) Washing:         -   The blocking solution was discarded and the Western blot             washed with 50 mL TTBS for 10 minutes at room temperature.         -   The blocking solution was discarded and the Western blot             washed with 50 mL TBS for 10 minutes at room temperature.     -   4) Antibody solution I:         -   The washing solution was discarded and the Western blot             incubated with antibody solution I for 4 h at room             temperature.     -   5) Washing:         -   The blocking solution was discarded and the Western blot             washed with 50 mL TTBS for 10 minutes at room temperature.         -   The blocking solution was discarded and the Western blot             washed with 50 mL TTBS for 10 minutes at room temperature.         -   The blocking solution was discarded and the Western blot             washed with 50 mL TBS for 10 minutes at room temperature.     -   6) Antibody solution II:         -   The washing solution was discarded and the Western blot             incubated with antibody solution II for 1 h at room             temperature.     -   7) Washing:         -   The blocking solution was discarded and the Western blot             washed with 50 mL TTBS for 10 minutes at room temperature.         -   The blocking solution was discarded and the Western blot             washed with 50 mL TTBS for 10 minutes at room temperature.         -   The blocking solution was discarded and the Western blot             washed with 50 mL TBS for 10 minutes at room temperature.     -   8) Development and quantitative analysis:         -   The washing solution was discarded.         -   Two mL Super Signal West Pico Substrate Enhancer and 2 mL             Peroxide Solution were mixed.         -   The resulting 4 mL solution were added to the Western blot             and the blot was incubated for 5 minutes in the dark.         -   The blot was analyzed using a chemoluminescence imaging             system (VersaDoc, BioRad). Five pictures at were taken at             30, 97.5, 165, 232.5 and 300 seconds acquisition time.         -   The picture at which no saturation of the trace             (intensity×mm) of the Aβ-protein bands occurred was             quantitatively analyzed using the software package Quantity             one, Version 4.5.0 (BioRad).             The results are shown in FIG. 2. The extraction procedure             with 3% (w/v) used herein is thought to extract soluble             forms of the total Aβ-peptide pool in the brain because the             buffer composition is not sufficient to solubilize             Aβ-peptide in the aggregated fibrillar form. The Aβ-peptide             that is bound in the Alzheimer's disease brain extract by             the monoclonal antibodies 3C5 and 10F4 is therefore soluble             Aβ-peptide. These soluble Aβ-species are thought to be the             Alzheimer's disease relevant species, as they correlate             better with the severity of the disease than fibrillar Aβ in             the form of Aβ-plaques found in AD brain (Kuo et al.             1996, J. Biol. Chem. 271, 4077-4081; Lue et al., 1999,             Am. J. Pathol. 155, 853-862). Therefore, the antibodies 10F4             and 3C5 target the disease relevant Aβ-species. Moreover, in             comparison to the pan-Aβ-antibody 6E10, the monoclonal             antibodies 3C5 and 10F4 bind only a to subfraction of the             total soluble Aβ-pool in the Alzheimer's disease brain             extract. The remaining Aβ-forms obviously do not possess the             Aβ-globulomer epitope recognized by 3C5 and 10F4. Due to the             fact that these Aβ-forms are not thought to be             neuropathogenic, it is advantegeous not to attack them by             the treatment antibody to reduce side effects and not to             reduce the effective concentration of antibodies circulating             in the CNS. Therefore, the dosing of the treatment antibody             can be reduced resulting in a better therapeutic index.

Example V Semi-Quantitative Analysis Visualized by SDS-Page of the Discrimination of Anti-Aβ Globulomer Antibodies for Aβ(1-42) Fibrils

Aβ(1-42) Fibril Preparation:

1 mg of Aβ(1-42) (Bachem, Cat. No.: H-1368) was dissolved in 500 μL 0.1% NH₄OH in H₂O and agitated for 1 min at ambient temperature. The sample was centrifuged for 5 min at 10000 g. The supernatant was collected. Aβ(1-42) concentration in the supernatant was determined according to Bradford's method (BIO-RAD Inc. assay procedure).

100 μL of Aβ(1-42) in 0.1% NH₄OH were mixed with 300 μL of 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4 and adjusted to pH 7.4 with 2% HCl. The sample was then incubated at 37° C. for 20 hours. Following which, the sample was centrifuged for 10 min at 10000 g. The supernatant was discarded, and the residue was mixed with 400 L of 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4, resuspended by vigorous agitation (“vortexing”) for 1 min and centrifuged for 10 min at 10000 g. The supernatant was discarded, and the residue was mixed with 400 μL of 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4, resuspended by vigorous agitation (“vortexing”) for 1 min and centrifuged for 10 min at 10000 g once more. The supernatant was discarded. The residue was resuspended in 380 L of 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4 and prompted by vigorous agitation (“vortexing”).

Binding of Anti-Aβ Antibodies to Aβ(1-42) Fibrils:

40 μL of Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation were diluted with 160 μL of 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, 0.05% Tween 20, pH 7.4 and agitated 5 min at ambient temperature, and then the sample was centrifuged for 10 min at 10000 g. The supernatant was discarded, and the residue was resuspended in 95 L of 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, 0.05% Tween 20, pH 7.4. Resuspension was prompted by vigorous agitation (“vortexing”). Aliquots of 10 μL of the fibril preparation were each mixed with:

-   -   a) 10 L 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4     -   b) 10 L 0.5 μg/μL of 3C5 in 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4     -   c) 10 L 0.5 μg/μL of 10F4 in 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4     -   d) 10 L 0.5 μg/μL of 6E10 (Signet Cat. Nr.: 9320) in 20 mM         NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4         The samples were incubated at 37° C. for 20 hours, and then         centrifuged for 10 min at 10000 g. The supernatants were         collected and mixed with 20 μL of SDS-PAGE sample buffer. The         residues were mixed with 50 μL of 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl,         0.025% Tween 20, pH 7.4 and resuspended by “vortexing”. Then,         the samples were centrifuged for 10 min at 10000 g. The         supernatants were discarded, and the residues were mixed with 20         μL 20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, 0.025% Tween 20, pH 7.4, then         with 20 μL of SDS-PAGE sample buffer. The samples were applied         to a 4-20% Tris/glycine gel for electrophoresis.         Parameters for SDS-PAGE:     -   SDS sample buffer: 0.3 g SDS         -   4 mL 1M Tris/HCl pH 6.8         -   8 mL glycerine         -   1 mL 1% bromphenol blue in ethanol         -   Fill with H₂O ad 50 mL     -   4-20% Tris/Glycine Gel: (Invitrogen Cat.no.: EC6025BOX)     -   Electrophoresis buffer: 7.5 g Tris         -   36 g Glycine         -   2.5 g SDS         -   Fill with H₂O ad 2.5 L     -   The gel is run at a constant current of 20 mA.     -   Staining of the gels: Coomassie Blue R250

Results are shown in FIG. 3.

Semiquantitative Analysis of Different Anti-Aβ Antibodies and Their Discrimination of Aβ(1-42) Fibrils:

Positions of antibodies, Aβ(1-42) fibrils antibody heavy chain, antibody light chain and Aβ(1-42) monomers are marked at the edge of the gel. Due to their size, Aβ(1-42) fibrils cannot enter the SDS-PAGE gel and can be seen in the gel slot.

-   -   1. Marker     -   2. Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation; control     -   3. Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation; +mAb 6E10; 20 h 37° C.;         supernatant     -   4. Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation; +mAb 6E10; 20 h 37° C.; pellet     -   5. Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation; +mAb 3C5; 20 h 37° C.;         supernatant     -   6. Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation; +mAb 3C5; 20 h 37° C.; pellet     -   7. Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation; +mAb 10F4; 20 h 37° C.;         supernatant     -   8. Aβ(1-42) fibril preparation; +mAb 10F4; 20 h 37° C.; pellet         The relative binding to fibril type Aβ was evaluated from         SDS-PAGE analysis by measuring the Optical Density (OD) values         from the Heavy Chain of the antibodies in the fibril bound         (pellet-fraction) and the supernatant fractions after         centrifugation. Antibodies that have bound to the Aβ fibrils         should be co-pelleted with the Aβ-fibrils and therefore are         found in the pellet fraction whereas non-Aβ-fibril bound (free)         antibodies are found in the supernatant. The percentage of         antibody bound to Aβ-fibrils was calculated according to the         following formula:         Percent antibody bound to         Aβ-fibrils=OD_(fibril fraction)×100%/(OD_(fibril fraction)+OD_(supernatant fraction)).         Results are shown in FIG. 3. In contrast to the commercially         available antibody 6E10 (Signet Cat. no.: 9320) which recognizes         and binds to a linear Aβ-epitope between AA1-17, the Aβ         globulomer antibodies 3C5 and 10F4 bind to Aβ(1-42)-fibrils with         a lower affinity in a co-pelleting experiment. This is evidenced         by the fact that the 3C5 and 10F4 antibodies, after an         incubation with Aβ(1-42) fibrils, remain mainly after a         pelleting step in the supernatant and are not co-pelleted due to         being bound to the Aβ(1-42) fibrils.

In the Alzheimer's disease brain, the Aβ fibrils are a major component of the total Aβ peptide pool. By attacking these fibrils by anti Aβ-antibodies, the risk of negative side effects is elevated due to a liberation of high amounts of Aβ which subsequently may increase the risk of microhaemorrhages. An increased risk for microhemorrhages was observed in an active immunization approach with fibrillar aggregates of the Aβ peptide (Bennett and Holtzman, 2005, Neurology, 64, 10-12; Orgogozo J, Neurology, 2003, 61, 46-54; Schenk et al., 2004, Curr Opin Immunol, 16, 599-606).

Example VI In Situ Analysis of the Specific Reaction of Antibodies 10F4 and 3C5 to Fibrillar Abeta Peptide in the Form of Amyloid Plaques and Amyloid in Meningeal Vessels in Old App Transgenic Mice And Alzheimer'S Disease Patients

Antibodies 10F4 and 3C5 show reduced staining to fibrillar Aβ peptide deposits suggesting that their therapeutic effect is mediated by binding to soluble globulomeric forms rather than fibrillar deposited forms of Aβ peptide. Since antibody binding to fibrillar Aβ peptide can lead to fast dissolution of aggregates and a subsequent increase of soluble Aβ concentration, which in turn is thought to be neurotoxic and could lead to microhemorrhages, an antibody therapy that effects the soluble globulomer rather than the monomer is preferred.

Methods:

For these experiments, several brain material samples were used: cortical tissue from 2 AD patients (RZ16 and RZ 55) and cortical tissue from 19 month old Tg2576 mice (APPSWE #001349, Taconic, Hudson, N.Y., USA) or 12 month old APP/L mice (ReMYND, Leuven, Belgium).

The mice overexpress human APP with a familial Alzheimer's disease mutation and form β-amyloid deposits in the brain parenchyma at about 11 months of age and β-amyloid deposits in larger cerebral vessels at about 18 months of age. The animals were deeply anaesthetized and transcardially perfused with 0.1 M phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) to flush the blood. Then, the brain was removed from the cranium and divided longitudinally. One hemisphere of the brain was shock-frozen and the other fixated by immersion into 4% paraformaldehyde. The immersion-fixated hemisphere was cryoprotected by soaking in 30% sucrose in PBS and mounted on a freezing microtome. The entire forebrain was cut into 40 μm transverse sections which were collected in PBS and used for the subsequent staining procedure.

The neocortex samples from Alzheimer's disease patients were obtained from Brain-Net, Munich, Germany as frozen tissue, immersion-fixated in 4% paraformaldehyde during thawing, and subsequently treated like the mouse tissue.

Individual Sections were Stained with Congo Red Using the Following Protocol:

Material:

-   -   Amyloid dye Congo Red kit (Sigma-Aldrich; HT-60), consisting of         alcoholic NaCl solution, NaOH solution and Congo Red solution     -   staining cuvettes     -   microscope slides SuperfrostPlus and coverslips     -   Ethanol, Xylol, embedding medium         Reagents:     -   NaOH diluted 1:100 with NaCl solution yields alkaline saline     -   alkaline saline diluted 1:100 with Congo Red solution yields         alkaline Congo Red solution (prepare no more than 15 min before         use, filtrate)     -   mount sections on slide and allow them to dry     -   incubate slide in staining cuvette, first for 30-40 minutes in         alkaline saline, then for 30-40 minutes in alkaline Congo Red         solution     -   rinse three times with fresh ethanol and embed over xylol

Staining was first photographed using a Zeiss Axioplan microscope (Zeiss, Jena, Germany) and evaluated qualitatively. Red colour indicated amyloid deposits both in the form of plaques and in larger meningeal vessels. Later on, evaluation of antibody staining focused on these structures.

Staining was performed by incubating the sections with a solution containing 0.07-0.7 μg/ml of the respective antibody in accordance with the following protocol:

Materials:

-   -   TBST washing solution (Tris Buffered Saline with Tween 20; 10×         concentrate; DakoCytomation 53306, DAKO, Hamburg, Germany) 1:10         in Aqua bidest.)     -   0.3% H₂O₂ in methanol     -   donkey serum (Serotec, Düsseldorf, Germany), 5% in TBST, as         blocking serum     -   monoclonal mouse-anti-globulomer antibodies diluted at given         concentrations in TBST     -   secondary antibody: biotinylated donkey-anti-mouse antibody         (Jackson Immuno/Dianova, Hamburg, Germany; 715-065-150; diluted         1:500 in TBST)     -   StreptABComplex (DakoCytomation K 0377, DAKO, Hamburg, Germany)     -   Peroxidase Substrate Kit diaminobenzidine (=DAB; SK-4100; Vector         Laboratories, Burlingame, Calif., USA)     -   SuperFrost Plus microscope slides and coverslips     -   xylol free embedding medium (Medite, Burgdorf, Germany; X-tra         Kitt)         Procedure:     -   transfer floating sections into ice-cold 0.3% H₂O₂ and incubate         for 30 min     -   wash for 5 min in TBST buffer     -   incubate with donkey serum/TBST for 20 minutes     -   incubate with primary antibody for 24 hours at room temperature     -   wash in TBST buffer for 5 minutes     -   incubate with blocking serum for 20 minutes     -   wash in TBST buffer for 5 minutes     -   incubate with secondary antibody for 60 minutes at ambient         temperature     -   wash in TBST buffer for 5 minutes     -   incubate with StreptABComplex for 60 minutes at ambient         temperature     -   wash in TBST buffer for 5 minutes     -   incubate with DAB for 20 minutes     -   mount the section on slides, air-dry slides, dehydrate slides         with alcohol and embed slides

Besides visual inspection of sections under the microscope, amyloid staining was additionally quantified by optically excising 10 randomly selected plaques from the histological images using the ImagePro 5.0 image analysis system and determining their average greyscale value. Optical density values (were calculated from the greyscale values by subtracting the mean background density of the stained material from the density of amyloid plaques (0%—no plaque staining above surrounding background, 100%—no transmission/maximal staining). The differences between antibodies 6E10/4G8 and 6G1, 10F4 and 3C5, respectively, were tested for statistical significance with ANOVA.

Results:

All antibody stained material described in the following proved to be congophilic amyloid deposits (FIG. 4(a)). The globulomer-preferring antibodies 10F4 and 3C5 stained parenchymal and meningeal congophilic deposits of Aβ peptide at the same concentration of 0.7 μg/mL significantly less than the antibodies 6G1 and 6E10 (FIG. 4(b,c,h)). Quantitative analysis of parenchymal amyloid plaque staining revealed binding of all antibodies to plaques (statistically significant density above control), but binding of antibody 10F4 and 3C5 was significantly lower than binding of the reference antibody 6E10 (raised to N-terminal sequence of Aβ) and equal or lower than reference antibody 4G8 (raised to N-terminal sequence of Aβ) (FIG. 4(d-g)).

Antibodies 10F4 and 3C5 bind less to amyloid deposits than antibodies which recognize Aβ monomer or part of the Aβ sequence. Treatment with antibodies binding to fibrillar Aβ peptide can lead to fast dissolution of amyloid plaques in brain tissue and a subsequent increase of soluble Aβ concentration, which in turn is thought to be neurotoxic and could lead to microhemorrhages, and/or a fast dissolution of vascular amyloid, which also could lead to microhemorrhages. Therefore, an antibody therapy that effects the soluble globulomer rather than the monomer is preferred.

Example VII Endogenous Aβ(1-42) and Aβ(1-40) Levels in CSF of AD patients After Immunoprecipitation with Anti-Aβ Globulomer Antibodies 10F4 and 3C5

Immunoprecipitation (IP) of Aβ-species from AD-brain CSF with Dynabeads M-280 Sheep anti-Mouse IgG

The following mAbs were immobilized to Dynabeads M-280 Sheep anti-Mouse IgG:

-   -   mAb 6E10 (Signet Inc.; Cat. no.: 9320)     -   mAb 3C5     -   mAb 10F4     -   mAb 8F5         Dynabeads M-280 Sheep Anti-Mouse IgG:

Sheep anti-Mouse IgG (Invitrogen Inc., Cat. no.: 112.02) is covalently bound to magnetic beads (Dynabeads).

Activation of Dynabeads with Monoclonal Mouse Antibodies

-   -   the stock-suspension of dynabeads (Dynabeads M-280 Sheep         anti-Mouse IgG, Invitrogen; Prod. No. 112.02) was shaken         carefully to prevent foaming     -   1 mL was aseptically removed and transferred to a 1.5 mL         reaction vial     -   the dynabeads were washed 3 times 5 min with 1 mL         immunoprecipitation (IP)-wash buffer (IP-wash-buffer: PBS (20 mM         NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM NaCl, pH 7.4), 0.1% (w/v) BSA). During the         washing procedure the supernatant was carefully removed while         the dynabeads were immobilized at the side of the reaction vial         with a magnetic separator stand (MSS)     -   the washed dynabeads were incubated with 40 μg Aβ-antibody in 1         mL PBS, 0.1% (w/v) BSA     -   the activation was carried out by overnight incubation under         shaking at 4° C.     -   the activated dynabeads were washed 4 times 30 min (again using         the MSS) with 1 mL IP-wash buffer (PBS (20 mM NaH₂PO₄, 140 mM         NaCl, pH 7.4), 0.1% (w/v) BSA)     -   the activated dynabeads were resuspended with 1 mL PBS, 0.1%         (w/v) BSA, 0.02% (w/v) Na-Azide; vortexed and centrifuged         briefly     -   the antibody activated dynabeads were stored at 4° C. until         further use         CSF Sample Preparation:

400 μL CSF from an Alzheimer's disease patient were added to 4 μL Complete Protease Inhibitor Cocktail (Roche Inc. Cat. no.: 1697498, 1 tablet dissolved in 1 mL water) and 0.8 μL 500 mM PMSF dissolved in methanol. After 10 min 1.6 mL 20 mM NaH₂PO₄,140 mM NaCl, 0.05% Tween 20, pH 7.4 (PBST) was added.

Immunoprecipitation of Aβ Species from Human AD-CSF:

250 μL aliquot of the prepared CSF sample were added to 25 μL anti-Aβ-Dynabeads suspension

-   -   Immunoprecipitation occurred under stirring at 6° C. for 16         hours. Subsequent washing of the beads was performed 3 times 5         min. with 1 mL PBS/0.1% (w/v) BSA and finally once 3 min. with 1         mL 10 mM Tris/HCL pH 7.5 buffer. During the washing procedure         the supernatant was carefully removed while the dynabeads were         immobilized at the side of the reaction vial with a magnetic         separator stand (MSS)

The residual supernatant was thoroughly removed after the final washing step.

The Aβ peptides and the corresponding antibody were removed from the Dynabeads by adding 25 μL sample buffer without β-Mercaptoethanol (0.36 M Bistris, 0.16 M Bicine, 1% SDS (w/v), 15% (w/v) sucrose, 0.004% (w/v) Bromphenolblue) to the Eppendorff tube and heating for 5 min at 95° C. in a heating block. After cooling to room temperature the dynabeads were immobilized at the side of the reaction vial with a magnetic separator stand (MSS) and the supernatant were transferred to another Eppendorff tube (IP eluate).

Analysis of Aβ Immunoprecipitates by Urea-PAGE Followed by Western Blot Procedure:

The quantification of Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 species was performed by a 8 M Urea Poly-Acrylamide-Gel-Electrophoresis system and subsequent Western Blot analysis according to the procedure first described by H. W. Klafki et al., Analytical Biochemistry 237., 24-29 (1996) and later also used by J. Wiltfang et al., J. of Neurochemistry 81, 481-496, 2002. There were only two minor changes made in the experimental procedure:

-   -   1) SDS concentration in the stacking gel was adjusted to 0.25%         (w/v) instead of 0.1% (w/v).     -   2) For the Western blot the antibody 1E8 (Senetek Drug Delivery         Technologies Inc. St. Louis, Mo., USA) was replaced by         Anti-Human Amyloid β (N) (82E1) Mouse IgG mAb (IBL, Cat.no.:         10323)

15 μL IP eluate aliquots of the immunoprecipitated samples were loaded onto the 8 M Urea PAGE. Electrophoresis was performed at 100 V (15 min) and continued at 60 V. The electrophoresis was stoppep when the running front of the blue sample loading dye was still 0.5 cm away from the end of the gel.

Western Blot Procedure:

Western blot analysis was performed in a Semi Dry Blotting chamber (BioRad Inc., 45 min at 75 mA) onto 7.5 cm×9 cm Nitrocellulose 0.45 μm (BioRad Inc.)

Blotting buffer: 6 g Tris; 28.1 g Glycin; 500m L Methanol; adjust to 2.5 l with water.

The Nitrocellulose blot was boiled for 10 min in PBS at 100° C. The blot was saturated by treatment with 50 mL 5% (w/v) BSA in PBST for 1 hour at RT. After removal of the fluid phase the following washing step were performed twice with: 50 mL TTBS (25 mM Tris/HCl; 150 mM NaCl Puffer; 0.05% Tween 20; pH 7.5) for 10 min at RT and subsequently with 50 mL TBS (25 mM Tris/HCl; 150 mM NaCl buffer; pH 7.5) for 10 min at RT.

For further development the final washing buffer was discarded from the blot and 15 mL antibody I solution (0.2 μg/mL 82E1=1:500 in 3% (w/v) skimmed milk powder (Lasana Inc.), in 15 mL TBS) were added for 20 hours at 6° C. Removal of buffer was followed by the three wash steps as described above. The blot was incubated with Antibody solution II (1:10000 dilution of anti-Mouse-POD in 15 mL 3% (w/v) skimmed milk powder in 15 mL TBS) for 1 hour at RT. Removal of buffer was followed by the three wash steps as described above.

After removal of the last washing buffer 2 mL Super Signal West Femto Maximum Sensitivity Substrat Enhancer and 2 mL Peroxide Solution was mixed. The freshly prepared solution was poured onto the blot which was preincubated in the dark for 5 min. Chemoluminescence was recorded using a VersaDoc Imaging system (BioRad).

Imaging Parameters:

exposure time 180 sec.

Picture records after 30 sec., 60 sec., 120 sec. and 180 sec.

The results were obtained from the picture with 180 sec. exposure time.

The anti-globulomer antibodies 10F4 and 3C5 of the present invention have a lower affinity for Aβ(1-42) peptide and Aβ(1-40) peptide in the CSF of an Alzheimer's disease patient, in comparison to the commercially available antibody 6E10 (which is, in the literature, regarded to recognize all Aβ-forms regardless of their conformation). CSF Aβ-peptide forms undergo a high turnover rate (Bateman et al., Nature Medicine, 2006, 12(7):856-61) and are therefore unlikely the disease relavant species. Therefore, the CSF Aβ-forms should not be targeted in a passive immunization treatment strategy of Alzheimer's disease in order to reduce the risk of undesired side effects. It is noted that, in an earlier study (Barghorn et al., J. Neurochem. 2005; 95(3):834-847), the anti Aβ-globulomer antibody 8F5 did not recognize and bind to Aβ-peptide in the CSF of an Alzheimer's disease patient. This earlier study was performed using a sandwich ELISA method. In contrast, when using the immunoprecipitation and Urea PAGE method described above, the same antibody 8F5 does recognize Aβ-peptide in the CSF of an Alzheimer's disease patient (see FIG. 5). Therefore, the sandwich ELISA method produced false negative results; hence, for the detection of Aβ-peptides in CSF, the immunoprecipitation and Urea PAGE methods described herein should be used. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding an antibody comprising a set of six CDRs comprising SEQ ID NOs: 15-20; or a set of six CDRs comprising SEQ ID NOs: 9-14.
 2. The isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim 1 wherein the nucleotide sequence of said molecule comprises at least one sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 3 and SEQ ID NO:
 4. 3. A vector comprising said isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim
 1. 4. A host cell comprising said vector of claim
 3. 5. A method of producing an antibody, comprising culturing said host cell of claim 4 in a culture medium for a time and under conditions suitable for production of said antibody.
 6. An isolated antibody produced by said method of claim 5, wherein the antibody has an affinity for Aβ(1-42) globulomer.
 7. The isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim 1, wherein the antibody has a higher affinity to Aβ(1-42) globulomer than to at least one amyloid beta protein selected from the group consisting of Aβ(1-42) peptide present in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and b) Aβ(1-40) peptide present in CSF; or wherein the antibody has a binding affinity to Aβ(1-42) globulomer which is greater than the binding affinity to at least one amyloid beta protein selected from the group consisting of a) Aβ(1-42) monomer, b) Aβ(1-40) monomer, c) Aβ(1-42) fibril, and d) soluble amyloid precursor protein-alpha (sAPPα). 